Which to use
“ereignen” is a verb and “ereigneten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,143
- “ereignen” frequency rank
- #46,616
- “ereigneten” frequency rank
- 87759
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ereignen | ereigneten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | geschehen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs ereignet |
Where the eye mixes ereignen and ereigneten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ereignen runs 8 letters (VCVVCCVC) against ereigneten's 10 (VCVVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ereignen with ereigneten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ereignen is [ɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯ɡnən] while ereigneten is [ɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯ɡnətn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 87759, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ereignen is recorded at frequency rank #41,143, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯ɡnən]. ereigneten is at rank #46,616, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ɛɐ̯ˈʔaɪ̯ɡnətn̩].
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 87759, this pair ranks #76,348 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ereignen vs ereigneten
Shared letters: eginr. Private to "ereignen": -. Private to "ereigneten": t.
"ereignen" · 8 letters · shape VCVVCCVC · "ereigneten" · 10 letters · shape VCVVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- ereignen ← eerignen · ereginen · ereigenn · ereiggnen · ereignenn · ereignne · ereignnen · ereingen
- ereigneten ← eerigneten · eregineten · ereigenten · ereiggneten · ereigneetn · ereignetenn · ereignetne · ereignetten
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ereignen" for "ereigneten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ereignen" or "ereigneten"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ereignen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ereigneten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #76,348 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ereignen" and "ereigneten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ereignet vs ereigneten". 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 #76,348 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.