eigensvsengesWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#7,901
“eigens” frequency rank
#23,912
“enges” frequency rank
31813
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eigens enges
Definition besonders für diesen Menschen oder für diesen Zweck Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs eng

Where the eye mixes eigens and enges

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
eigens
5 ch
enges

Why the eye confuses eigens with enges

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eigens is [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩s] while enges is [ˈɛŋəs]. 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 (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eigens is recorded at frequency rank #7,901, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩s]. enges is at rank #23,912, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈɛŋəs].

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 31813, this pair ranks #1,720,480 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of eigens vs enges

Shared letters: egns. Private to "eigens": i. Private to "enges": -.

"eigens" · 6 letters · shape VVCVCC  ·  "enges" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eigensegiens · eiegns · eigenns · eigenss · eigesn · eiggens · eignes · iegens
  • engesegnes · enegs · engess · engges · engse · ennges · neges

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eigens" and "enges" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "eigens" is an adverb and "enges" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "eigens" or "enges" show up more?
"eigens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,901 in our German list, against #23,912 for "enges". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "eigens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "enges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,720,480 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eigens" and "enges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Eggers vs enges". 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 #1,720,480 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