bedeutevsbedeutetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,837
“bedeute” frequency rank
#695
“bedeutet” frequency rank
20532
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bedeute bedeutet
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bedeuten 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bedeuten

Where the eye mixes bedeute and bedeutet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. bedeute runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against bedeutet's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
bedeute
8 ch
bedeutet

Visual trap between bedeute and bedeutet

A purely visual mix-up. bedeute ([bəˈdɔɪ̯tə]) and bedeutet ([bəˈdɔɪ̯tət]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “bedeute” sits inside “bedeutet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20532, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bedeute is recorded at frequency rank #19,837, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈdɔɪ̯tə]. bedeutet is at rank #695, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈdɔɪ̯tət].

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 20532, this pair ranks #1,896,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bedeute vs bedeutet

Shared letters: bdetu. Private to "bedeute": -. Private to "bedeutet": -.

"bedeute" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "bedeutet" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bedeute ← bbedeute · bdeeute · beddeute · bedetue · bedeuet · beduete · beedute · ebdeute
  • bedeutet ← bbedeutet · bdeeutet · beddeutet · bedetuet · bedeuett · bedeutett · bedeutte · bedeuttet

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bedeute" and "bedeutet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈdɔɪ̯tə] versus [bəˈdɔɪ̯tət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bedeute" or "bedeutet"?
"bedeutet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #695 in our German list, against #19,837 for "bedeute". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bedeute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bedeutet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,896,611 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bedeute" and "bedeutet" 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 #1,896,611 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