eigenwilligevseigenwilligenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#48,095
“eigenwillige” frequency rank
#49,605
“eigenwilligen” frequency rank
97700
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eigenwillige eigenwilligen
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs eigenwillig Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs eigenwillig

Where the eye mixes eigenwillige and eigenwilligen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. eigenwillige runs 12 letters (VVCVCCVCCVCV) against eigenwilligen's 13 (VVCVCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

12 ch
eigenwillige
13 ch
eigenwilligen

Visual trap between eigenwillige and eigenwilligen

A purely visual mix-up. eigenwillige ([ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩ˌvɪlɪɡə]) and eigenwilligen ([ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩ˌvɪlɪɡn̩]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “eigenwillige” sits inside “eigenwilligen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 97700, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eigenwillige is recorded at frequency rank #48,095, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩ˌvɪlɪɡə]. eigenwilligen is at rank #49,605, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩ˌvɪlɪɡn̩].

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 97700, this pair ranks #3,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of eigenwillige vs eigenwilligen

Shared letters: egilnw. Private to "eigenwillige": -. Private to "eigenwilligen": -.

"eigenwillige" · 12 letters · shape VVCVCCVCCVCV  ·  "eigenwilligen" · 13 letters · shape VVCVCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eigenwillige ← egienwillige · eiegnwillige · eigeniwllige · eigennwillige · eigenwilige · eigenwililge · eigenwillgie · eigenwillieg
  • eigenwilligen ← egienwilligen · eiegnwilligen · eigeniwlligen · eigennwilligen · eigenwiligen · eigenwililgen · eigenwillgien · eigenwilliegn

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eigenwillige" and "eigenwilligen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩ˌvɪlɪɡə] versus [ˈaɪ̯ɡn̩ˌvɪlɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "eigenwillige" or "eigenwilligen"?
"eigenwillige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #48,095 in our German list, against #49,605 for "eigenwilligen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "eigenwillige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "eigenwilligen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #3,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #3,042 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