Which to use
“eigene” and “eiserne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #540
- “eigene” frequency rank
- #15,611
- “eiserne” frequency rank
- 16151
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eigene | eiserne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs eigen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs eisern |
Where the eye mixes eigene and eiserne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses eigene with eiserne
A purely visual mix-up. eigene ([ˈaɪ̯ɡənə]) and eiserne ([ˈaɪ̯zɐnə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eigene is recorded at frequency rank #540, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡənə]. eiserne is at rank #15,611, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯zɐnə].
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 16151, this pair ranks #1,938,159 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eigene vs eiserne
Shared letters: ein. Private to "eigene": g. Private to "eiserne": rs.
"eigene" · 6 letters · shape VVCVCV · "eiserne" · 7 letters · shape VVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "eigene" and "eiserne" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "eigene" or "eiserne"?
What to do next
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 "eiserne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,938,159 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eigene" and "eiserne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eisern vs eiserne". 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 #1,938,159 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.