KönigenvsKöniginWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,819
“Königen” frequency rank
#2,837
“Königin” frequency rank
30656
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Königen Königin
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs König nach der Kaiserin höchste monarchische Würdenträgerin eines Staates (Königreichs)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Königen and Königin apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Königen
7 ch
Königin

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Königen ([ˈkøːnɪɡn̩]) and Königin ([ˈkøːnɪɡɪn]) 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 a single letter - e in “Königen” becomes i in “Königin”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30656, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Königen is recorded at frequency rank #27,819, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkøːnɪɡn̩]. Königin is at rank #2,837, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkøːnɪɡɪn].

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 30656, this pair ranks #1,743,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Königen vs Königin

Shared letters: giknö. Private to "Königen": e. Private to "Königin": -.

"Königen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "Königin" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

Königen#27,819
Königin#2,837

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Königen" and "Königin" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkøːnɪɡn̩] versus [ˈkøːnɪɡɪn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Königen" or "Königin"?
"Königin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,837 in our German list, against #27,819 for "Königen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Königen vs Königin

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Königen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list