Which to use
“begründet” and “begründeten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,711
- “begründet” frequency rank
- #15,306
- “begründeten” frequency rank
- 19017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | begründet | begründeten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | berechtigt; mit einem Grund, einer Ursache belegt | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs begründet |
Where the eye mixes begründet and begründeten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. begründet runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against begründeten's 11 (CVCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses begründet with begründeten
A purely visual mix-up. begründet ([bəˈɡʁʏndət]) and begründeten ([bəˈɡʁʏndətn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “begründet” sits inside “begründeten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
begründet is recorded at frequency rank #3,711, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈɡʁʏndət]. begründeten is at rank #15,306, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈɡʁʏndətn̩].
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 19017, this pair ranks #1,912,636 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of begründet vs begründeten
Shared letters: bdegnrtü. Private to "begründet": -. Private to "begründeten": -.
"begründet" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "begründeten" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "begründet" for "begründeten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "begründet" vs "begründeten" - 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 "begründet" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "begründeten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,912,636 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "begründet" and "begründeten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befreundeten vs begründeten". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,912,636 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.