Which to use
“ihnen” is a pronoun and “irren” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #170
- “ihnen” frequency rank
- #7,629
- “irren” frequency rank
- 7799
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ihnen | irren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personalpronomen 3. Person Plural Dativ | falsch liegen, einem Fehler aufsitzen, einen Irrtum begehen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ihnen and irren apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ihnen is [ˈiːnən] while irren is [ˈɪʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7799, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ihnen is recorded at frequency rank #170, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈiːnən]. 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 7799, this pair ranks #1,986,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ihnen vs irren
Shared letters: ein. Private to "ihnen": h. Private to "irren": r.
"ihnen" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "irren" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ihnen" and "irren" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ihnen" or "irren"?
Remembering ihnen vs irren
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “ihnen”; for a verb, it's “irren”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ihnen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable