Which to use
“eignen” is a verb and “Eignung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,034
- “eignen” frequency rank
- #15,071
- “Eignung” frequency rank
- 22105
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eignen | Eignung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | für einen Einsatz, eine Funktion benötigte Eigenschaften oder Fähigkeiten besitzen | Eigenschaft, passend, tauglich zu sein |
Where the eye mixes eignen and Eignung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. eignen runs 6 letters (VVCCVC) against Eignung's 7 (VVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between eignen and Eignung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eignen is [ˈaɪ̯ɡnən] while Eignung is [ˈaɪ̯ɡnʊŋ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22105, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eignen is recorded at frequency rank #7,034, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡnən]. Eignung is at rank #15,071, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ɡnʊŋ].
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 22105, this pair ranks #1,878,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eignen vs Eignung
Shared letters: egin. Private to "eignen": -. Private to "Eignung": u.
"eignen" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC · "Eignung" · 7 letters · shape VVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eignen" for "Eignung" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "eignen" or "Eignung" show up more?
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 "eignen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Eignung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,878,238 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eignen" and "Eignung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eignen 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 #1,878,238 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.