bedeutenvsbedientenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,487
“bedeuten” frequency rank
#36,219
“bedienten” frequency rank
38706
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bedeuten bedienten
Definition etwas heißen, etwas bezeichnen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bedient

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bedeuten and bedienten apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
bedeuten
9 ch
bedienten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bedeuten is [bəˈdɔɪ̯tn̩] while bedienten is [bəˈdiːntn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38706, 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]. bedienten is at rank #36,219, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈdiːntn̩].

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 38706, this pair ranks #1,556,791 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bedeuten vs bedienten

Shared letters: bdent. Private to "bedeuten": u. Private to "bedienten": i.

"bedeuten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "bedienten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bedeutenbbedeuten · bdeeuten · beddeuten · bedetuen · bedeuetn · bedeutenn · bedeutne · bedeutten
  • bedientenbbedienten · bdeienten · beddienten · bedeinten · bedienetn · bediennten · bedientenn · bedientne

Frequency comparison

bedeuten#2,487
bedienten#36,219

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bedeuten" and "bedienten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bedeuten" is a verb and "bedienten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bedeuten" or "bedienten"?
"bedeuten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,487 in our German list, against #36,219 for "bedienten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering bedeuten vs bedienten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “bedeuten”; for an adjective, it's “bedienten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bedeuten” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list