befristetevsbefristetenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#23,042
“befristete” frequency rank
#31,456
“befristeten” frequency rank
54498
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befristete befristeten
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs befristet Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs befristet

Where the eye mixes befristete and befristeten

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

10 ch
befristete
11 ch
befristeten

Look-alike desk: befristete vs befristeten

A purely visual mix-up. befristete ([bəˈfʁɪstətə]) and befristeten ([bəˈfʁɪstətn̩]) 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) - “befristete” sits inside “befristeten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54498, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

befristete is recorded at frequency rank #23,042, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfʁɪstətə]. befristeten is at rank #31,456, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfʁɪstətn̩].

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 54498, this pair ranks #1,016,518 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of befristete vs befristeten

Shared letters: befirst. Private to "befristete": -. Private to "befristeten": n.

"befristete" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV  ·  "befristeten" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • befristete ← bbefristete · beffristete · befirstete · befrisette · befrisstete · befristeet · befristette · befristtee
  • befristeten ← bbefristeten · beffristeten · befirsteten · befrisetten · befrissteten · befristeetn · befristetenn · befristetne

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "befristete" and "befristeten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈfʁɪstətə] versus [bəˈfʁɪstətn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "befristete" vs "befristeten" - which ranks higher?
"befristete" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,042 in our German list, against #31,456 for "befristeten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "befristete" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "befristeten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,016,518 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "befristete" and "befristeten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befristet 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 #1,016,518 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