eigenenvseigensWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: eigenen is a adjective, eigens is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“eigenen” is an adjective and “eigens” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#351
“eigenen” frequency rank
#7,901
“eigens” frequency rank
8252
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eigenen eigens
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs eigen besonders für diesen Menschen oder für diesen Zweck

Where the eye mixes eigenen and eigens

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

7 ch
eigenen
6 ch
eigens

Why the eye confuses eigenen with eigens

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eigenen is [ˈaɪ̯ɡənən] while eigens is [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩s]. 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 adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8252, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eigenen is recorded at frequency rank #351, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡənən]. eigens is at rank #7,901, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩s].

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 8252, this pair ranks #1,985,037 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of eigenen vs eigens

Shared letters: egin. Private to "eigenen": -. Private to "eigens": s.

"eigenen" · 7 letters · shape VVCVCVC  ·  "eigens" · 6 letters · shape VVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eigenenegienen · eiegnen · eigeenn · eigenenn · eigenne · eigennen · eiggenen · eigneen
  • eigensegiens · eiegns · eigenns · eigenss · eigesn · eiggens · eignes · iegens

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eigenen" and "eigens" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "eigenen" is an adjective and "eigens" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "eigenen" vs "eigens" - which ranks higher?
"eigenen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #351 in our German list, against #7,901 for "eigens". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "eigenen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "eigens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,985,037 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eigenen" and "eigens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Eigelb vs eigens". 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 #1,985,037 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