BedürfnisvsBedürfnisseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,152
“Bedürfnis” frequency rank
#5,343
“Bedürfnisse” frequency rank
12495
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bedürfnis Bedürfnisse
Definition der Wunsch oder das Verlangen nach etwas Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Bedürfnis

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Bedürfnis and Bedürfnisse apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
Bedürfnis
11 ch
Bedürfnisse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Bedürfnis ([bəˈdʏʁfnɪs]) and Bedürfnisse ([bəˈdʏʁfnɪsə]) 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) - “Bedürfnis” sits inside “Bedürfnisse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12495, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bedürfnis is recorded at frequency rank #7,152, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈdʏʁfnɪs]. Bedürfnisse is at rank #5,343, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈdʏʁfnɪsə].

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 12495, this pair ranks #1,963,842 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Bedürfnis vs Bedürfnisse

Shared letters: bdefinrsü. Private to "Bedürfnis": -. Private to "Bedürfnisse": -.

"Bedürfnis" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC  ·  "Bedürfnisse" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCV

Frequency comparison

Bedürfnis#7,152
Bedürfnisse#5,343

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Bedürfnis" and "Bedürfnisse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈdʏʁfnɪs] versus [bəˈdʏʁfnɪsə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Bedürfnis" or "Bedürfnisse"?
"Bedürfnisse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,343 in our German list, against #7,152 for "Bedürfnis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Bedürfnis vs Bedürfnisse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Bedürfnis” 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