Which to use
“beherrschen” is a verb and “beherrschte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,639
- “beherrschen” frequency rank
- #20,520
- “beherrschte” frequency rank
- 27159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beherrschen | beherrschte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Macht über jemand oder etwas ausüben | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs beherrscht |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set beherrschen and beherrschte apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beherrschen is [bəˈhɛʁʃn̩] while beherrschte is [bəˈhɛʁʃtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beherrschen is recorded at frequency rank #6,639, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈhɛʁʃn̩]. beherrschte is at rank #20,520, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈhɛʁʃtə].
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 27159, this pair ranks #1,806,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beherrschen vs beherrschte
Shared letters: bcehrs. Private to "beherrschen": n. Private to "beherrschte": t.
"beherrschen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCCCVC · "beherrschte" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- beherrschen ← bbeherrschen · beehrrschen · beherrcshen · beherrscchen · beherrscehn · beherrschenn · beherrschhen · beherrschne
- beherrschte ← bbeherrschte · beehrrschte · beherrcshte · beherrscchte · beherrschet · beherrschhte · beherrschtte · beherrscthe
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "beherrschen" and "beherrschte" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "beherrschen" or "beherrschte"?
Remembering beherrschen vs beherrschte
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “beherrschen”; for an adjective, it's “beherrschte”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “beherrschen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable