befreundetvsbefreundeteWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#8,335
“befreundet” frequency rank
#28,550
“befreundete” frequency rank
36885
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befreundet befreundete
Definition freundschaftlich verbunden Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs befreundet

Where the eye mixes befreundet and befreundete

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. befreundet runs 10 letters (CVCCVVCCVC) against befreundete's 11 (CVCCVVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
befreundet
11 ch
befreundete

Why the eye confuses befreundet with befreundete

A purely visual mix-up. befreundet ([bəˈfʁɔɪ̯ndət]) and befreundete ([bəˈfʁɔɪ̯ndətə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “befreundet” sits inside “befreundete”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36885, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

befreundet is recorded at frequency rank #8,335, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfʁɔɪ̯ndət]. befreundete is at rank #28,550, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfʁɔɪ̯ndətə].

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 36885, this pair ranks #1,604,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of befreundet vs befreundete

Shared letters: bdefnrtu. Private to "befreundet": -. Private to "befreundete": -.

"befreundet" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVC  ·  "befreundete" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • befreundet ← bbefreundet · beferundet · beffreundet · befrenudet · befreudnet · befreunddet · befreundett · befreundte
  • befreundete ← bbefreundete · beferundete · beffreundete · befrenudete · befreudnete · befreunddete · befreundeet · befreundette

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "befreundet" for "befreundete" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈfʁɔɪ̯ndət] versus [bəˈfʁɔɪ̯ndətə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "befreundet" or "befreundete" show up more?
"befreundet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,335 in our German list, against #28,550 for "befreundete". 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 "befreundet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "befreundete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,604,256 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "befreundet" and "befreundete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befreundete vs befreundeten". 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 #1,604,256 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