befördertvsbeförderteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: befördert is a verb, beförderte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“befördert” is a verb and “beförderte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,153
“befördert” frequency rank
#30,469
“beförderte” frequency rank
37622
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befördert beförderte
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs befördern Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs befördert

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
befördert
10 ch
beförderte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: befördert is [bəˈfœʁdɐt] while beförderte is [bəˈfœʁdɐtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “befördert” sits inside “beförderte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37622, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

befördert is recorded at frequency rank #7,153, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfœʁdɐt]. beförderte is at rank #30,469, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfœʁdɐtə].

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 37622, this pair ranks #1,585,333 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of befördert vs beförderte

Shared letters: bdefrtö. Private to "befördert": -. Private to "beförderte": -.

"befördert" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "beförderte" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCV

Frequency comparison

befördert#7,153
beförderte#30,469

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "befördert" and "beförderte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "befördert" is a verb and "beförderte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "befördert" or "beförderte"?
"befördert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,153 in our German list, against #30,469 for "beförderte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering befördert vs beförderte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “befördert”; for an adjective, it's “beförderte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “befördert” 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