selbigenvsselbigesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: selbigen is a unknown, selbiges is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“selbigen” is an unknown and “selbiges” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,361
“selbigen” frequency rank
#36,619
“selbiges” frequency rank
70980
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature selbigen selbiges
Definition Akkusativ Singular Maskulinum des Demonstrativpronomens selbig Genitiv Singular Maskulinum des Demonstrativpronomens selbig

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set selbigen and selbiges apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
selbigen
8 ch
selbiges

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: selbigen is [ˈzɛlbɪɡn̩] while selbiges is [ˈzɛlbɪɡəs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “selbigen” becomes s in “selbiges”, and the parts of speech differ too (unknown vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70980, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

selbigen is recorded at frequency rank #34,361, classified as anunknown, pronounced [ˈzɛlbɪɡn̩]. selbiges is at rank #36,619, tagged as apron, pronounced [ˈzɛlbɪɡəs].

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 70980, this pair ranks #430,122 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of selbigen vs selbiges

Shared letters: begils. Private to "selbigen": n. Private to "selbiges": -.

"selbigen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "selbiges" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • selbigeneslbigen · sebligen · selbbigen · selbgien · selbiegn · selbigenn · selbiggen · selbigne
  • selbigeseslbiges · sebliges · selbbiges · selbgies · selbiegs · selbigess · selbigges · selbigse

Frequency comparison

selbigen#34,361
selbiges#36,619

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "selbigen" and "selbiges" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "selbigen" is an unknown and "selbiges" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "selbigen" or "selbiges"?
"selbigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,361 in our German list, against #36,619 for "selbiges". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering selbigen vs selbiges

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an unknown, it's “selbigen”; for a pronoun, it's “selbiges”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “selbigen” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list