Which to use
“eigentlichen” and “eigentliches” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,807
- “eigentlichen” frequency rank
- #38,700
- “eigentliches” frequency rank
- 42507
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eigentlichen | eigentliches |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs eigentlich | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs eigentlich |
Where the eye mixes eigentlichen and eigentliches
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses eigentlichen with eigentliches
A purely visual mix-up. eigentlichen ([ˈaɪ̯ɡəntlɪçn̩]) and eigentliches ([ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩tlɪçəs]) 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 - n in “eigentlichen” becomes s in “eigentliches”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42507, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eigentlichen is recorded at frequency rank #3,807, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡəntlɪçn̩]. eigentliches is at rank #38,700, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩tlɪçəs].
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 42507, this pair ranks #1,447,164 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of eigentlichen vs eigentliches
Shared letters: ceghilnt. Private to "eigentlichen": -. Private to "eigentliches": s.
"eigentlichen" · 12 letters · shape VVCVCCCVCCVC · "eigentliches" · 12 letters · shape VVCVCCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- eigentlichen ← egientlichen · eiegntlichen · eigenltichen · eigenntlichen · eigentilchen · eigentlcihen · eigentlicchen · eigentlicehn
- eigentliches ← egientliches · eiegntliches · eigenltiches · eigenntliches · eigentilches · eigentlcihes · eigentlicches · eigentlicehs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eigentlichen" for "eigentliches" ever safe?
Frequency check: "eigentlichen" vs "eigentliches" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "eigentlichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "eigentliches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,447,164 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eigentlichen" and "eigentliches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eigentlicher vs eigentliches". 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 #1,447,164 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.