Which to use
“bedürfe” and “bedurfte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,684
- “bedürfe” frequency rank
- #33,460
- “bedurfte” frequency rank
- 75144
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bedürfe | bedurfte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv I Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bedürfen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bedürfen |
Where the eye mixes bedürfe and bedurfte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bedürfe runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against bedurfte's 8 (CVCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bedürfe with bedurfte
A purely visual mix-up. bedürfe ([bəˈdʏʁfə]) and bedurfte ([bəˈdʊʁftə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75144, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bedürfe is recorded at frequency rank #41,684, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈdʏʁfə]. bedurfte is at rank #33,460, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈdʊʁftə].
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 75144, this pair ranks #315,401 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bedürfe vs bedurfte
Shared letters: bdefr. Private to "bedürfe": ü. Private to "bedurfte": tu.
"bedürfe" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "bedurfte" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- bedurfte ← bbedurfte · bdeurfte · beddurfte · bedrufte · bedufrte · bedurfet · bedurffte · bedurftte
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bedürfe" and "bedurfte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "bedürfe" or "bedurfte"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "bedürfe" and "bedurfte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bedürfe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bedurfte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #315,401 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bedürfe" and "bedurfte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bedaure vs bedürfe". 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 #315,401 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.