All German word comparisons · Back to the topic overview
Meaning, sentence patterns and examples
| Word | Core meaning | Typical context | Grammar |
|---|---|---|---|
| eigen | own; characteristic | possession, independence or a trait | adjective; mein eigenes … |
| eigenartig | strange; unusual | a peculiar impression or behavior | adjective; no fixed object case |
| eigentümlich | characteristic; peculiar | a distinctive trait or odd quality | adjective; dative in characteristic frame |
eigen
Meaning and usage: Use eigen for something belonging to a person or arising independently: one's own room, money, decision or opinion. It can also mean characteristic in etwas ist jemandem eigen. Older or regional uses include strange and particular or fussy, so translating eigen as own in every context would be too narrow.
Grammar: Before a noun it inflects: mein eigener Plan, meine eigene Idee, mein eigenes Zimmer. In Der Humor ist ihm eigen, ihm is dative. Sich etwas zu eigen machen means adopting something; the reflexive pronoun is dative and the adopted thing accusative.
Ich möchte eine eigene Entscheidung treffen.
I want to make my own decision.
eigenartig
Meaning and usage: Use eigenartig when something strikes you as odd or unusual: a smell, a feeling, a remark or someone's behavior. It does not simply indicate ownership. The evaluation may be curious or critical, depending on tone and context; the word does not automatically imply danger or a serious problem.
Grammar: Adjective endings apply before nouns: ein eigenartiger Geruch. After sein or as an adverbial modifier, use the uninflected form: Das ist eigenartig; sich eigenartig verhalten. Comparative eigenartiger is possible when comparing degrees of oddness.
Aus dem Keller kommt ein eigenartiger Geruch.
An unusual smell is coming from the cellar.
eigentümlich
Meaning and usage: Use eigentümlich for a distinctive quality, including one characteristic of a particular person or thing. It can also describe something peculiar or strange. Ein eigentümlicher Geruch may therefore be close to ein eigenartiger Geruch; only context tells you whether distinctiveness or oddness is emphasized.
Grammar: As an adjective, it inflects before nouns: eine eigentümliche Stimme. In the characteristic frame, use dative: die ihr eigentümliche Ruhe. The adjective itself does not mean legally owned; ordinary possession usually uses eigen or a possessive expression.
Sie antwortete mit der ihr eigentümlichen Ruhe.
She answered with her characteristic calm.
Das Haus hat eine eigentümliche Atmosphäre.
The house has a peculiar atmosphere.
Overlap and context
Eigenartig and eigentümlich can both describe a strange atmosphere without a sharp, universal difference in intensity. Eigentümlich additionally has a clear characteristic-of sense. Eigen can express that sense too, but its everyday ownership use is separate. Do not infer meaning solely from the shared eigen-: read the complete adjective and the construction, especially a dative phrase indicating who possesses the trait.
Common mistakes
- Do not use eigenartig for ordinary own: mein eigenartiges Zimmer means my strange room, not my own room.
- Do not define eigentümlich as always strange; it can mean characteristic.
- Keep endings in meine eigene Entscheidung and the dative person in die ihr eigentümliche Ruhe.
Memory aid: Own, odd, distinctive: eigen often means own; eigenartig means odd; eigentümlich can be distinctive or odd. Save a separate example for eigen in the characteristic sense.
Try it
You mean a room that is yours, without suggesting it is strange. Complete: Ich habe ein ___ Zimmer.
Show the answer
eigenes
Ein eigenes Zimmer expresses one's own room. Eigenartiges or eigentümliches would instead describe an unusual or distinctive quality.