igenvsIonWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: igen is a adverb, Ion is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“igen” is an adverb and “Ion” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,824
“igen” frequency rank
#22,388
“Ion” frequency rank
61212
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature igen Ion
Definition ja elektrisch geladenes Teilchen, das aus einem neutralen Atom oder Molekül durch Anlagerung oder Abgabe von Elektronen (Ionisation) entsteht

Where the eye mixes igen and Ion

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
igen
3 ch
Ion

Look-alike desk: igen vs Ion

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: igen is [ˈiɡɛn] while Ion is [iˈoːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

igen is recorded at frequency rank #38,824, classified as anadv, pronounced [ˈiɡɛn]. Ion is at rank #22,388, tagged as anoun, pronounced [iˈoːn].

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 61212, this pair ranks #758,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of igen vs Ion

Shared letters: in. Private to "igen": eg. Private to "Ion": o.

"igen" · 4 letters · shape VCVC  ·  "Ion" · 3 letters · shape VVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • igengien · iegn · igenn · iggen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "igen" for "Ion" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "igen" is an adverb and "Ion" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "igen" or "Ion"?
"Ion" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,388 in our German list, against #38,824 for "igen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "igen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Ion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #758,136 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "igen" and "Ion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "igen vs ile". 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 #758,136 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