BefestigungvsBefestigungenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,514
“Befestigung” frequency rank
#40,422
“Befestigungen” frequency rank
54936
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Befestigung Befestigungen
Definition Handlung, etwas an einem Gegenstand festzumachen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Befestigung

Where the eye mixes Befestigung and Befestigungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. Befestigung runs 11 letters (CVCVCCVCVCC) against Befestigungen's 13 (CVCVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
Befestigung
13 ch
Befestigungen

Look-alike desk: Befestigung vs Befestigungen

A purely visual mix-up. Befestigung ([bəˈfɛstɪɡʊŋ]) and Befestigungen ([bəˈfɛstɪɡʊŋən]) 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) - “Befestigung” sits inside “Befestigungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54936, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Befestigung is recorded at frequency rank #14,514, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈfɛstɪɡʊŋ]. Befestigungen is at rank #40,422, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈfɛstɪɡʊŋən].

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 54936, this pair ranks #999,118 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Befestigung vs Befestigungen

Shared letters: befginstu. Private to "Befestigung": -. Private to "Befestigungen": -.

"Befestigung" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCC  ·  "Befestigungen" · 13 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Befestigung ← bbefestigung · beefstigung · befesitgung · befesstigung · befestgiung · befestiggung · befestignug · befestigugn
  • Befestigungen ← bbefestigungen · beefstigungen · befesitgungen · befesstigungen · befestgiungen · befestiggungen · befestignugen · befestigugnen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Befestigung" and "Befestigungen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈfɛstɪɡʊŋ] versus [bəˈfɛstɪɡʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Befestigung" or "Befestigungen"?
"Befestigung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,514 in our German list, against #40,422 for "Befestigungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Befestigung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Befestigungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #999,118 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Befestigung" and "Befestigungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Befestigungen vs Belästigungen". 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 #999,118 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list