befindetvsBefundenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: befindet is a verb, Befunden is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“befindet” is a verb and “Befunden” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,177
“befindet” frequency rank
#9,857
“Befunden” frequency rank
11034
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befindet Befunden
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs befinden Dativ Plural des Substantivs Befund

Where the eye mixes befindet and Befunden

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. befindet and Befunden follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
befindet
8 ch
Befunden

Why the eye confuses befindet with Befunden

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: befindet is [bəˈfɪndət] while Befunden is [bəˈfʊndn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11034, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

befindet is recorded at frequency rank #1,177, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfɪndət]. Befunden is at rank #9,857, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈfʊndn̩].

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 11034, this pair ranks #1,972,037 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of befindet vs Befunden

Shared letters: bdefn. Private to "befindet": it. Private to "Befunden": u.

"befindet" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "Befunden" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • befindetbbefindet · beffindet · befidnet · befinddet · befindett · befindte · befinedt · befinndet
  • Befundenbbefunden · beffunden · befnuden · befudnen · befundden · befundenn · befundne · befunedn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "befindet" for "Befunden" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "befindet" is a verb and "Befunden" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "befindet" or "Befunden"?
"befindet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,177 in our German list, against #9,857 for "Befunden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "befindet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Befunden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,972,037 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "befindet" and "Befunden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befüllen vs Befunden". 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 #1,972,037 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