Which to use
“echten” and “eichen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,539
- “echten” frequency rank
- #16,129
- “eichen” frequency rank
- 18668
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | echten | eichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs echt | aus Eichenholz bestehend oder gemacht |
Where the eye mixes echten and eichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: echten vs eichen
A purely visual mix-up. echten ([ˈɛçtn̩]) and eichen ([ˈaɪ̯çn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
echten is recorded at frequency rank #2,539, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛçtn̩]. eichen is at rank #16,129, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯çn̩].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 18668, this pair ranks #1,916,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of echten vs eichen
Shared letters: cehn. Private to "echten": t. Private to "eichen": i.
"echten" · 6 letters · shape VCCCVC · "eichen" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "echten" for "eichen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "echten" or "eichen" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "echten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "eichen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,916,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "echten" and "eichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Eicheln vs eichen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,916,042 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.