eignenvseiltenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,034
“eignen” frequency rank
#44,547
“eilten” frequency rank
51581
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eignen eilten
Definition für einen Einsatz, eine Funktion benötigte Eigenschaften oder Fähigkeiten besitzen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs eilen

Where the eye mixes eignen and eilten

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

6 ch
eignen
6 ch
eilten

Visual trap between eignen and eilten

A purely visual mix-up. eignen ([ˈaɪ̯ɡnən]) and eilten ([ˈaɪ̯ltn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51581, 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]. eilten is at rank #44,547, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯ltn̩].

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 51581, this pair ranks #1,129,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of eignen vs eilten

Shared letters: ein. Private to "eignen": g. Private to "eilten": lt.

"eignen" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC  ·  "eilten" · 6 letters · shape VVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eigneneginen · eigenn · eiggnen · eignenn · eignne · eignnen · eingen · iegnen
  • eilteneiletn · eillten · eiltenn · eiltne · eiltten · eitlen · ielten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "eignen" for "eilten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯ɡnən] versus [ˈaɪ̯ltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "eignen" or "eilten"?
"eignen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,034 in our German list, against #44,547 for "eilten". 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 "eignen" and "eilten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "eignen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "eilten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,129,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eignen" and "eilten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilten vs Exoten". 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 #1,129,981 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