Which to use
“bekam” and “bekamen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,690
- “bekam” frequency rank
- #5,806
- “bekamen” frequency rank
- 7496
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bekam | bekamen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bekommen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bekommen |
Where the eye mixes bekam and bekamen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. bekam runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against bekamen's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bekam with bekamen
A purely visual mix-up. bekam ([bəˈkaːm]) and bekamen ([bəˈkaːmən]) 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) - “bekam” sits inside “bekamen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7496, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bekam is recorded at frequency rank #1,690, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈkaːm]. bekamen is at rank #5,806, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈkaːmən].
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 7496, this pair ranks #1,987,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bekam vs bekamen
Shared letters: abekm. Private to "bekam": -. Private to "bekamen": n.
"bekam" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "bekamen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bekam" and "bekamen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "bekam" or "bekamen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bekam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bekamen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,987,945 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bekam" and "bekamen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bejahen vs bekamen". 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 #1,987,945 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.