bedrohenvsbedrohtenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#14,245
“bedrohen” frequency rank
#18,824
“bedrohten” frequency rank
33069
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bedrohen bedrohten
Definition jemanden durch die Ankündigung von Gewalt oder Sanktionen einschüchtern oder zwingen, etwas zu tun Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bedroht

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bedrohen and bedrohten apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
bedrohen
9 ch
bedrohten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bedrohen is [bəˈdʁoːən] while bedrohten is [bəˈdʁoːtn̩]. 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 33069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bedrohen is recorded at frequency rank #14,245, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈdʁoːən]. bedrohten is at rank #18,824, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈdʁoːtn̩].

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 33069, this pair ranks #1,693,955 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bedrohen vs bedrohten

Shared letters: bdehnor. Private to "bedrohen": -. Private to "bedrohten": t.

"bedrohen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "bedrohten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bedrohenbbedrohen · bderohen · beddrohen · bedorhen · bedrhoen · bedroehn · bedrohenn · bedrohhen
  • bedrohtenbbedrohten · bderohten · beddrohten · bedorhten · bedrhoten · bedrohetn · bedrohhten · bedrohtenn

Frequency comparison

bedrohen#14,245
bedrohten#18,824

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bedrohen" and "bedrohten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bedrohen" is a verb and "bedrohten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bedrohen" or "bedrohten"?
"bedrohen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,245 in our German list, against #18,824 for "bedrohten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bedrohen vs bedrohten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “bedrohen”; for an adjective, it's “bedrohten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bedrohen” 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