Which to use
“begeistern” is a verb and “begeistert” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,030
- “begeistern” frequency rank
- #2,488
- “begeistert” frequency rank
- 10518
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | begeistern | begeistert |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden in große freudige Erregung versetzen; jemandem Hoffnung geben | durch einen äußeren Anlass in freudiger Stimmung befindlich |
Where the eye mixes begeistern and begeistert
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses begeistern with begeistert
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: begeistern is [bəˈɡaɪ̯stɐn] while begeistert is [bəˈɡaɪ̯stɐt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “begeistern” becomes t in “begeistert”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10518, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
begeistern is recorded at frequency rank #8,030, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈɡaɪ̯stɐn]. begeistert is at rank #2,488, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈɡaɪ̯stɐt].
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 10518, this pair ranks #1,974,737 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of begeistern vs begeistert
Shared letters: begirst. Private to "begeistern": n. Private to "begeistert": -.
"begeistern" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCC · "begeistert" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- begeistern ← bbegeistern · beegistern · begeisetrn · begeisstern · begeistenr · begeisternn · begeisterrn · begeistren
- begeistert ← bbegeistert · beegistert · begeisetrt · begeisstert · begeisterrt · begeistertt · begeistetr · begeistret
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "begeistern" and "begeistert" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "begeistern" or "begeistert" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "begeistern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "begeistert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,974,737 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "begeistern" and "begeistert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "begeistern vs Begleitern". 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 #1,974,737 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.