Which to use
“begegnen” and “begegnete” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,146
- “begegnen” frequency rank
- #21,183
- “begegnete” frequency rank
- 26329
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | begegnen | begegnete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden, meist eher zufällig, treffen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs begegnen |
Where the eye mixes begegnen and begegnete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. begegnen runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against begegnete's 9 (CVCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: begegnen vs begegnete
A purely visual mix-up. begegnen ([bəˈɡeːɡnən]) and begegnete ([bəˈɡeːɡnətə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26329, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
begegnen is recorded at frequency rank #5,146, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈɡeːɡnən]. begegnete is at rank #21,183, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈɡeːɡnətə].
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 26329, this pair ranks #1,819,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of begegnen vs begegnete
Shared letters: begn. Private to "begegnen": -. Private to "begegnete": t.
"begegnen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "begegnete" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "begegnen" and "begegnete" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "begegnen" vs "begegnete" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "begegnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "begegnete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,819,782 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "begegnen" and "begegnete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "begegne vs begegnete". 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 #1,819,782 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.