Which to use
“bedurfte” is a verb and “bedürftige” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,460
- “bedurfte” frequency rank
- #25,911
- “bedürftige” frequency rank
- 59371
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bedurfte | bedürftige |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bedürfen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs bedürftig |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bedurfte and bedürftige apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bedurfte is [bəˈdʊʁftə] while bedürftige is [bəˈdʏʁftɪɡə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 59371, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bedurfte is recorded at frequency rank #33,460, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈdʊʁftə]. bedürftige is at rank #25,911, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈdʏʁftɪɡə].
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 59371, this pair ranks #827,027 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bedurfte vs bedürftige
Shared letters: bdefrt. Private to "bedurfte": u. Private to "bedürftige": giü.
"bedurfte" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV · "bedürftige" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- bedurfte ← bbedurfte · bdeurfte · beddurfte · bedrufte · bedufrte · bedurfet · bedurffte · bedurftte
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bedurfte" and "bedürftige" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bedurfte" or "bedürftige"?
Remembering bedurfte vs bedürftige
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “bedurfte”; for an adjective, it's “bedürftige”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bedurfte” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable