befristetvsbefristeteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,510
“befristet” frequency rank
#23,042
“befristete” frequency rank
42552
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befristet befristete
Definition zeitlich begrenzt Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs befristet

Where the eye mixes befristet and befristete

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. befristet runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against befristete's 10 (CVCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
befristet
10 ch
befristete

Why the eye confuses befristet with befristete

A purely visual mix-up. befristet ([bəˈfʁɪstət]) and befristete ([bəˈfʁɪstətə]) 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) - “befristet” sits inside “befristete”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42552, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

befristet is recorded at frequency rank #19,510, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfʁɪstət]. befristete is at rank #23,042, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfʁɪstətə].

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 42552, this pair ranks #1,445,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of befristet vs befristete

Shared letters: befirst. Private to "befristet": -. Private to "befristete": -.

"befristet" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "befristete" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • befristet ← bbefristet · beffristet · befirstet · befrisett · befrisstet · befristett · befristte · befristtet
  • befristete ← bbefristete · beffristete · befirstete · befrisette · befrisstete · befristeet · befristette · befristtee

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "befristet" and "befristete" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈfʁɪstət] versus [bəˈfʁɪstətə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "befristet" vs "befristete" - which ranks higher?
"befristet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,510 in our German list, against #23,042 for "befristete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "befristet" and "befristete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "befristet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "befristete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,445,849 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "befristet" and "befristete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befristete vs befristeten". 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 #1,445,849 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