bedachtvsbedecktWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bedacht is a verb, bedeckt is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bedacht” is a verb and “bedeckt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,288
“bedacht” frequency rank
#5,458
“bedeckt” frequency rank
12746
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bedacht bedeckt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs bedachen mit Wolken am Himmel, bewölkt

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
bedacht
7 ch
bedeckt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bedacht is [bəˈdaxt] while bedeckt is [bəˈdɛkt]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12746, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bedacht is recorded at frequency rank #7,288, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈdaxt]. bedeckt is at rank #5,458, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈdɛkt].

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 12746, this pair ranks #1,962,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bedacht vs bedeckt

Shared letters: bcdet. Private to "bedacht": ah. Private to "bedeckt": k.

"bedacht" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "bedeckt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bedachtbbedacht · bdeacht · beadcht · bedaccht · bedachht · bedachtt · bedacth · bedahct
  • bedecktbbedeckt · bdeeckt · bedcekt · beddeckt · bedecckt · bedeckkt · bedecktt · bedectk

Frequency comparison

bedacht#7,288
bedeckt#5,458

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bedacht" and "bedeckt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bedacht" is a verb and "bedeckt" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bedacht" or "bedeckt"?
"bedeckt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,458 in our German list, against #7,288 for "bedacht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bedacht vs bedeckt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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