Which to use
“begegnen” and “begegneten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,146
- “begegnen” frequency rank
- #30,943
- “begegneten” frequency rank
- 36089
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | begegnen | begegneten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden, meist eher zufällig, treffen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs begegnen |
Where the eye mixes begegnen and begegneten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. begegnen runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against begegneten's 10 (CVCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses begegnen with begegneten
A purely visual mix-up. begegnen ([bəˈɡeːɡnən]) and begegneten ([bəˈɡeːɡnətn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36089, 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]. begegneten is at rank #30,943, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈɡeːɡnətn̩].
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 36089, this pair ranks #1,624,182 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of begegnen vs begegneten
Shared letters: begn. Private to "begegnen": -. Private to "begegneten": t.
"begegnen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "begegneten" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- begegnen ← bbegegnen · beeggnen · begegenn · begeggnen · begegnenn · begegnne · begegnnen · begengen
- begegneten ← bbegegneten · beeggneten · begegenten · begeggneten · begegneetn · begegnetenn · begegnetne · begegnetten
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "begegnen" and "begegneten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "begegnen" vs "begegneten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "begegnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "begegneten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,624,182 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "begegnen" and "begegneten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "begegnete vs begegneten". 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 #1,624,182 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.