eigenemvseigenenTell them apart

Which to use

“eigenem” and “eigenen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,475
“eigenem” frequency rank
#351
“eigenen” frequency rank
5826
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eigenem eigenen
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs eigen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs eigen

Where the eye mixes eigenem and eigenen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
eigenem
7 ch
eigenen

Visual trap between eigenem and eigenen

A purely visual mix-up. eigenem ([ˈaɪ̯ɡənəm]) and eigenen ([ˈaɪ̯ɡənən]) 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 a single letter - m in “eigenem” becomes n in “eigenen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5826, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eigenem is recorded at frequency rank #5,475, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡənəm]. eigenen is at rank #351, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡənən].

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 5826, this pair ranks #1,993,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of eigenem vs eigenen

Shared letters: egin. Private to "eigenem": m. Private to "eigenen": -.

"eigenem" · 7 letters · shape VVCVCVC  ·  "eigenen" · 7 letters · shape VVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eigenemegienem · eiegnem · eigeenm · eigenemm · eigenme · eigennem · eiggenem · eigneem
  • eigenenegienen · eiegnen · eigeenn · eigenenn · eigenne · eigennen · eiggenen · eigneen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "eigenem" for "eigenen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯ɡənəm] versus [ˈaɪ̯ɡənən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "eigenem" or "eigenen"?
"eigenen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #351 in our German list, against #5,475 for "eigenem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "eigenem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "eigenen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,993,596 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eigenem" and "eigenen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eigenem vs eigne". 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 #1,993,596 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