eigenemvseigneTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#5,475
“eigenem” frequency rank
#42,443
“eigne” frequency rank
47918
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eigenem eigne
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs eigen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs eignen

Where the eye mixes eigenem and eigne

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
eigenem
5 ch
eigne

Look-alike desk: eigenem vs eigne

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eigenem is [ˈaɪ̯ɡənəm] while eigne is [ˈaɪ̯ɡnə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 47918, 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]. eigne is at rank #42,443, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡnə].

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 47918, this pair ranks #1,267,325 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of eigenem vs eigne

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

"eigenem" · 7 letters · shape VVCVCVC  ·  "eigne" · 5 letters · shape VVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eigenemegienem · eiegnem · eigeenm · eigenemm · eigenme · eigennem · eiggenem · eigneem
  • eigneegine · eiggne · einge · iegne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eigenem" and "eigne" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "eigenem" is an adjective and "eigne" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "eigenem" or "eigne" show up more?
"eigenem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,475 in our German list, against #42,443 for "eigne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "eigenem" and "eigne" 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 "eigne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,267,325 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eigenem" and "eigne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eigne vs eignete". 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 #1,267,325 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