Which to use
“eich” is a verb and “eichen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,861
- “eich” frequency rank
- #16,129
- “eichen” frequency rank
- 34990
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eich | eichen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs eichen | aus Eichenholz bestehend oder gemacht |
Where the eye mixes eich and eichen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses eich with eichen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eich is [aɪ̯ç] while eichen is [ˈaɪ̯çn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “eich” sits inside “eichen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34990, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eich is recorded at frequency rank #18,861, classified as averb, pronounced [aɪ̯ç]. 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 34990, this pair ranks #1,650,617 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eich vs eichen
Shared letters: cehi. Private to "eich": -. Private to "eichen": n.
"eich" · 4 letters · shape VVCC · "eichen" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "eich" and "eichen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "eich" or "eichen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "eich" 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 #1,650,617 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eich" and "eichen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eich vs eight". 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 #1,650,617 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.