beherrschevsbeherrschenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,827
“beherrsche” frequency rank
#6,639
“beherrschen” frequency rank
46466
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beherrsche beherrschen
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs beherrschen Macht über jemand oder etwas ausüben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set beherrsche and beherrschen apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
beherrsche
11 ch
beherrschen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. beherrsche ([bəˈhɛʁʃə]) and beherrschen ([bəˈhɛʁʃn̩]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “beherrsche” sits inside “beherrschen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46466, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beherrsche is recorded at frequency rank #39,827, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈhɛʁʃə]. beherrschen is at rank #6,639, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈhɛʁʃn̩].

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 46466, this pair ranks #1,318,152 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of beherrsche vs beherrschen

Shared letters: bcehrs. Private to "beherrsche": -. Private to "beherrschen": n.

"beherrsche" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCCCV  ·  "beherrschen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beherrschebbeherrsche · beehrrsche · beherrcshe · beherrscche · beherrsceh · beherrschhe · beherrshce · beherrssche
  • beherrschenbbeherrschen · beehrrschen · beherrcshen · beherrscchen · beherrscehn · beherrschenn · beherrschhen · beherrschne

Frequency comparison

beherrsche#39,827
beherrschen#6,639

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beherrsche" and "beherrschen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈhɛʁʃə] versus [bəˈhɛʁʃn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "beherrsche" or "beherrschen"?
"beherrschen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,639 in our German list, against #39,827 for "beherrsche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering beherrsche vs beherrschen

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 “beherrsche” 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