BedeutungvsBedeutungenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#900
“Bedeutung” frequency rank
#16,365
“Bedeutungen” frequency rank
17265
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bedeutung Bedeutungen
Definition Sinn einer Information, Handlung oder Sache Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Bedeutung

Where the eye mixes Bedeutung and Bedeutungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Bedeutung runs 9 letters (CVCVVCVCC) against Bedeutungen's 11 (CVCVVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Bedeutung
11 ch
Bedeutungen

Look-alike desk: Bedeutung vs Bedeutungen

A purely visual mix-up. Bedeutung ([bəˈdɔɪ̯tʊŋ]) and Bedeutungen ([bəˈdɔɪ̯tʊŋən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Bedeutung” sits inside “Bedeutungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bedeutung is recorded at frequency rank #900, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈdɔɪ̯tʊŋ]. Bedeutungen is at rank #16,365, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈdɔɪ̯tʊŋən].

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 17265, this pair ranks #1,928,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Bedeutung vs Bedeutungen

Shared letters: bdegntu. Private to "Bedeutung": -. Private to "Bedeutungen": -.

"Bedeutung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVCC  ·  "Bedeutungen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Bedeutungbbedeutung · bdeeutung · beddeutung · bedetuung · bedeutnug · bedeuttung · bedeutugn · bedeutungg
  • Bedeutungenbbedeutungen · bdeeutungen · beddeutungen · bedetuungen · bedeutnugen · bedeuttungen · bedeutugnen · bedeutunegn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Bedeutung" for "Bedeutungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈdɔɪ̯tʊŋ] versus [bəˈdɔɪ̯tʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Bedeutung" or "Bedeutungen"?
"Bedeutung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #900 in our German list, against #16,365 for "Bedeutungen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Bedeutung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Bedeutungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,928,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Bedeutung" and "Bedeutungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bedeutungen vs Bewertungen". 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 #1,928,930 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