Which to use
“ehrgeizige” and “ehrgeizigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,471
- “ehrgeizige” frequency rank
- #39,300
- “ehrgeizigen” frequency rank
- 76771
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ehrgeizige | ehrgeizigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ehrgeizig | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs ehrgeizig |
Where the eye mixes ehrgeizige and ehrgeizigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. ehrgeizige runs 10 letters (VCCCVVCVCV) against ehrgeizigen's 11 (VCCCVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ehrgeizige with ehrgeizigen
A purely visual mix-up. ehrgeizige ([ˈeːɐ̯ˌɡaɪ̯t͡sɪɡə]) and ehrgeizigen ([ˈeːɐ̯ˌɡaɪ̯t͡sɪɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “ehrgeizige” sits inside “ehrgeizigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76771, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ehrgeizige is recorded at frequency rank #37,471, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯ˌɡaɪ̯t͡sɪɡə]. ehrgeizigen is at rank #39,300, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈeːɐ̯ˌɡaɪ̯t͡sɪɡn̩].
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 76771, this pair ranks #276,150 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ehrgeizige vs ehrgeizigen
Shared letters: eghirz. Private to "ehrgeizige": -. Private to "ehrgeizigen": n.
"ehrgeizige" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVVCVCV · "ehrgeizigen" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ehrgeizige ← ehgreizige · ehhrgeizige · ehregizige · ehrgeiizge · ehrgeizgie · ehrgeizieg · ehrgeizigge · ehrgeizzige
- ehrgeizigen ← ehgreizigen · ehhrgeizigen · ehregizigen · ehrgeiizgen · ehrgeizgien · ehrgeiziegn · ehrgeizigenn · ehrgeiziggen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ehrgeizige" and "ehrgeizigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "ehrgeizige" or "ehrgeizigen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ehrgeizige" and "ehrgeizigen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ehrgeizige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ehrgeizigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #276,150 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ehrgeizige" and "ehrgeizigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ehrgeizig vs ehrgeizigen". 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 #276,150 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.