bedenkevsbedeuteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,849
“bedenke” frequency rank
#19,837
“bedeute” frequency rank
40686
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bedenke bedeute
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bedenken 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bedeuten

Where the eye mixes bedenke and bedeute

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. bedenke (CVCVCCV) and bedeute (CVCVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
bedenke
7 ch
bedeute

Look-alike desk: bedenke vs bedeute

A purely visual mix-up. bedenke ([bəˈdɛŋkə]) and bedeute ([bəˈdɔɪ̯tə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bedenke is recorded at frequency rank #20,849, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈdɛŋkə]. bedeute is at rank #19,837, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈdɔɪ̯tə].

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 40686, this pair ranks #1,501,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bedenke vs bedeute

Shared letters: bde. Private to "bedenke": kn. Private to "bedeute": tu.

"bedenke" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "bedeute" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bedenke ← bbedenke · bdeenke · beddenke · bedekne · bedenek · bedenkke · bedennke · bedneke
  • bedeute ← bbedeute · bdeeute · beddeute · bedetue · bedeuet · beduete · beedute · ebdeute

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bedenke" for "bedeute" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈdɛŋkə] versus [bəˈdɔɪ̯tə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bedenke" vs "bedeute" - which ranks higher?
"bedeute" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,837 in our German list, against #20,849 for "bedenke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "bedenke" and "bedeute" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bedenke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bedeute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,501,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bedenke" and "bedeute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bedeute vs bedeutest". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,501,347 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list