einenvseinigenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46
“einen” frequency rank
#668
“einigen” frequency rank
714
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature einen einigen
Definition zur Gemeinsamkeit führen mehrere Parteien (zum Beispiel Personen oder Völker) zu einer Einheit verbinden

Where the eye mixes einen and einigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
einen
7 ch
einigen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. einen ([ˈaɪ̯nən]) and einigen ([ˈaɪ̯nɪɡn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 714, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

einen is recorded at frequency rank #46, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nən]. einigen is at rank #668, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nɪɡn̩].

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 714, this pair ranks #2,005,455 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of einen vs einigen

Shared letters: ein. Private to "einen": -. Private to "einigen": g.

"einen" · 5 letters · shape VVCVC  ·  "einigen" · 7 letters · shape VVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eineneienn · einenn · einnen · enien · ienen
  • einigeneiingen · eingien · einiegn · einigenn · einiggen · einigne · einnigen · eniigen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "einen" and "einigen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaɪ̯nən] versus [ˈaɪ̯nɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "einen" or "einigen"?
"einen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #46 in our German list, against #668 for "einigen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "einen" and "einigen". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "einen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "einigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,005,455 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "einen" and "einigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "einen 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list