Which to use
“eilen” and “essen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,518
- “eilen” frequency rank
- #402
- “essen” frequency rank
- 25920
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eilen | essen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schnell gehen, um ein Ziel möglichst schnell zu erreichen | feste Nahrung oral einnehmen |
Where the eye mixes eilen and essen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. eilen (VVCVC) and essen (VCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between eilen and essen
A purely visual mix-up. eilen ([ˈaɪ̯lən]) and essen ([ˈɛsn̩]) 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 25920, 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]. essen is at rank #402, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɛsn̩].
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 25920, this pair ranks #1,825,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eilen vs essen
Shared letters: en. Private to "eilen": il. Private to "essen": s.
"eilen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC · "essen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eilen" for "essen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "eilen" or "essen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "eilen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "essen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,825,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eilen" and "essen" 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 #1,825,981 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.