Which to use
“igen” is an adverb and “irren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,824
- “igen” frequency rank
- #7,629
- “irren” frequency rank
- 46453
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | igen | irren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ja | falsch liegen, einem Fehler aufsitzen, einen Irrtum begehen |
Where the eye mixes igen and irren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: igen vs irren
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: igen is [ˈiɡɛn] while irren is [ˈɪʁən]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46453, 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]. irren is at rank #7,629, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɪʁən].
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 46453, this pair ranks #1,318,644 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of igen vs irren
Shared letters: ein. Private to "igen": g. Private to "irren": r.
"igen" · 4 letters · shape VCVC · "irren" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "igen" and "irren" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "igen" or "irren" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "igen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "irren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,318,644 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "igen" and "irren" 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 #1,318,644 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.