eigenvseiltenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: eigen is a adjective, eilten is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“eigen” is an adjective and “eilten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,852
“eigen” frequency rank
#44,547
“eilten” frequency rank
53399
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eigen eilten
Definition jemandem oder etwas zugehörig, jemandem selbst gehörend 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs eilen

Where the eye mixes eigen and eilten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
eigen
6 ch
eilten

Look-alike desk: eigen vs eilten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eigen is [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩] while eilten is [ˈaɪ̯ltn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53399, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eigen is recorded at frequency rank #8,852, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩]. eilten is at rank #44,547, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ltn̩].

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 53399, this pair ranks #1,059,530 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of eigen vs eilten

Shared letters: ein. Private to "eigen": g. Private to "eilten": lt.

"eigen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC  ·  "eilten" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eigenegien · eiegn · eiggen · iegen
  • eilteneiletn · eillten · eiltenn · eiltne · eiltten · eitlen · ielten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eigen" and "eilten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "eigen" is an adjective and "eilten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "eigen" or "eilten"?
"eigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,852 in our German list, against #44,547 for "eilten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "eigen" and "eilten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "eigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "eilten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,059,530 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eigen" and "eilten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilten vs Exoten". 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 #1,059,530 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list