Which to use
“eilen” is a verb and “Eisen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,518
- “eilen” frequency rank
- #5,582
- “Eisen” frequency rank
- 31100
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eilen | Eisen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schnell gehen, um ein Ziel möglichst schnell zu erreichen | chemisches Element, silberweißes, bei Feuchtigkeit leicht oxidierendes Metall |
Where the eye mixes eilen and Eisen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses eilen with Eisen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eilen is [ˈaɪ̯lən] while Eisen is [ˈaɪ̯zn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “eilen” becomes s in “Eisen”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31100, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eilen is recorded at frequency rank #25,518, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯lən]. Eisen is at rank #5,582, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯zn̩].
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 31100, this pair ranks #1,734,802 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eilen vs Eisen
Shared letters: ein. Private to "eilen": l. Private to "Eisen": s.
"eilen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC · "Eisen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "eilen" and "Eisen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "eilen" vs "Eisen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "eilen" and "Eisen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "eilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Eisen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,734,802 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eilen" and "Eisen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eilen vs Eupen". 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 #1,734,802 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.