Which to use
“been” and “begin” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,246
- “been” frequency rank
- #43,748
- “begin” frequency rank
- 57994
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | been | begin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Past Participle des Verbs be | beginnen, anfangen |
Where the eye mixes been and begin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. been runs 4 letters (CVVC) against begin's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between been and begin
A purely visual mix-up. been ([bɪn]) and begin ([bɪˈɡɪn]) 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 57994, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
been is recorded at frequency rank #14,246, classified as averb, pronounced [bɪn]. begin is at rank #43,748, tagged as averb, pronounced [bɪˈɡɪn].
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 57994, this pair ranks #879,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of been vs begin
Shared letters: ben. Private to "been": -. Private to "begin": gi.
"been" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "begin" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "been" for "begin" ever safe?
Which is more common, "been" or "begin"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "been" and "begin" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "been" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "begin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #879,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "been" and "begin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bain vs begin". 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 #879,729 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.