Which to use
“bedeuten” is a verb and “bedeutende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,487
- “bedeuten” frequency rank
- #5,913
- “bedeutende” frequency rank
- 8400
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bedeuten | bedeutende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas heißen, etwas bezeichnen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs bedeutend |
Where the eye mixes bedeuten and bedeutende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bedeuten runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against bedeutende's 10 (CVCVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bedeuten vs bedeutende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bedeuten is [bəˈdɔɪ̯tn̩] while bedeutende is [bəˈdɔɪ̯tn̩də]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “bedeuten” sits inside “bedeutende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8400, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bedeuten is recorded at frequency rank #2,487, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈdɔɪ̯tn̩]. bedeutende is at rank #5,913, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈdɔɪ̯tn̩də].
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 8400, this pair ranks #1,984,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bedeuten vs bedeutende
Shared letters: bdentu. Private to "bedeuten": -. Private to "bedeutende": -.
"bedeuten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "bedeutende" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- bedeuten ← bbedeuten · bdeeuten · beddeuten · bedetuen · bedeuetn · bedeutenn · bedeutne · bedeutten
- bedeutende ← bbedeutende · bdeeutende · beddeutende · bedetuende · bedeuetnde · bedeutedne · bedeutendde · bedeutened
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bedeuten" for "bedeutende" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bedeuten" vs "bedeutende" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bedeuten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bedeutende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,984,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bedeuten" and "bedeutende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bedeuten 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 #1,984,452 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.