Which to use
“bedürfen” and “bedurfte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,571
- “bedürfen” frequency rank
- #33,460
- “bedurfte” frequency rank
- 49031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bedürfen | bedurfte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas benötigen, etwas brauchen, auf etwas angewiesen sein | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bedürfen |
Where the eye mixes bedürfen and bedurfte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bedürfen (CVCVCCVC) and bedurfte (CVCVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: bedürfen vs bedurfte
A purely visual mix-up. bedürfen ([bəˈdʏʁfn̩]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bedürfen is recorded at frequency rank #15,571, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈdʏʁfn̩]. 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 49031, this pair ranks #1,226,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bedürfen vs bedurfte
Shared letters: bdefr. Private to "bedürfen": nü. Private to "bedurfte": tu.
"bedürfen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "bedurfte" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- bedurfte ← bbedurfte · bdeurfte · beddurfte · bedrufte · bedufrte · bedurfet · bedurffte · bedurftte
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bedürfen" and "bedurfte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bedürfen" or "bedurfte"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "bedürfen" and "bedurfte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bedürfen" 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 #1,226,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bedürfen" and "bedurfte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bedürfe vs bedurfte". 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 #1,226,607 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.