Which to use
“eigene” is an adjective and “eilen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #540
- “eigene” frequency rank
- #25,518
- “eilen” frequency rank
- 26058
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eigene | eilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs eigen | schnell gehen, um ein Ziel möglichst schnell zu erreichen |
Where the eye mixes eigene and eilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: eigene vs eilen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eigene is [ˈaɪ̯ɡənə] while eilen is [ˈaɪ̯lən]. 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 26058, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eigene is recorded at frequency rank #540, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡənə]. eilen is at rank #25,518, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯lən].
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 26058, this pair ranks #1,823,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eigene vs eilen
Shared letters: ein. Private to "eigene": g. Private to "eilen": l.
"eigene" · 6 letters · shape VVCVCV · "eilen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "eigene" and "eilen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "eigene" or "eilen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "eigene" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "eilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,823,834 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eigene" and "eilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilen vs Eupen". 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 #1,823,834 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.