Which to use
“begegnen” is a verb and “Begegnung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,146
- “begegnen” frequency rank
- #4,592
- “Begegnung” frequency rank
- 9738
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | begegnen | Begegnung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden, meist eher zufällig, treffen | Zusammentreffen von Personen, Fahrzeugen oder anderen Objekten |
Where the eye mixes begegnen and Begegnung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. begegnen runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against Begegnung's 9 (CVCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses begegnen with Begegnung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: begegnen is [bəˈɡeːɡnən] while Begegnung is [bəˈɡeːɡnʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9738, 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]. Begegnung is at rank #4,592, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈɡeːɡnʊŋ].
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 9738, this pair ranks #1,978,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of begegnen vs Begegnung
Shared letters: begn. Private to "begegnen": -. Private to "Begegnung": u.
"begegnen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "Begegnung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "begegnen" and "Begegnung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "begegnen" vs "Begegnung" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "begegnen" and "Begegnung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "begegnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Begegnung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,978,527 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "begegnen" and "Begegnung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "begegne vs begegnen". 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 #1,978,527 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.