bastelnvsBastionWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: basteln is a verb, Bastion is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“basteln” is a verb and “Bastion” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,988
“basteln” frequency rank
#30,464
“Bastion” frequency rank
39452
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature basteln Bastion
Definition sich mit kleinen Handwerksarbeiten (zumeist aus Papier, Pappe oder einem anderen Material) aus Liebhaberei beschäftigen auch vorgezogener Verteidigungspunkt einer Festung

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set basteln and Bastion apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
basteln
7 ch
Bastion

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: basteln is [ˈbastl̩n] while Bastion is [basˈti̯oːn]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39452, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

basteln is recorded at frequency rank #8,988, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbastl̩n]. Bastion is at rank #30,464, tagged as anoun, pronounced [basˈti̯oːn].

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 39452, this pair ranks #1,536,404 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of basteln vs Bastion

Shared letters: abnst. Private to "basteln": el. Private to "Bastion": io.

"basteln" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "Bastion" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bastelnabsteln · basetln · bassteln · bastelln · bastelnn · bastenl · bastlen · bastteln
  • Bastionabstion · basiton · basstion · bastino · bastionn · bastoin · basttion · batsion

Frequency comparison

basteln#8,988
Bastion#30,464

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "basteln" and "Bastion" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "basteln" is a verb and "Bastion" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "basteln" or "Bastion"?
"basteln" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,988 in our German list, against #30,464 for "Bastion". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering basteln vs Bastion

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “basteln”; for a noun, it's “Bastion”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “basteln” 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