begingenvsbesinnenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,159
“begingen” frequency rank
#27,649
“besinnen” frequency rank
72808
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature begingen besinnen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs begehen klar werden, nachdenken

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set begingen and besinnen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
begingen
8 ch
besinnen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. begingen ([bəˈɡɪŋən]) and besinnen ([bəˈzɪnən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72808, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

begingen is recorded at frequency rank #45,159, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈɡɪŋən]. besinnen is at rank #27,649, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈzɪnən].

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 72808, this pair ranks #377,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of begingen vs besinnen

Shared letters: bein. Private to "begingen": g. Private to "besinnen": s.

"begingen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "besinnen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • begingenbbegingen · beggingen · begignen · beginegn · begingenn · beginggen · begingne · beginngen
  • besinnenbbesinnen · beisnnen · besinen · besinenn · besinnenn · besinnne · besninen · bessinnen

Frequency comparison

begingen#45,159
besinnen#27,649

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "begingen" and "besinnen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈɡɪŋən] versus [bəˈzɪnən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "begingen" or "besinnen"?
"besinnen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,649 in our German list, against #45,159 for "begingen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering begingen vs besinnen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “begingen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list