Which to use
“bekamen” and “bekommen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,806
- “bekamen” frequency rank
- #336
- “bekommen” frequency rank
- 6142
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bekamen | bekommen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bekommen | etwas empfangen, etwas erhalten, etwas erlangen; in seinen Besitz übernehmen |
Where the eye mixes bekamen and bekommen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bekamen runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against bekommen's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bekamen with bekommen
A purely visual mix-up. bekamen ([bəˈkaːmən]) and bekommen ([bəˈkɔmən]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bekamen is recorded at frequency rank #5,806, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈkaːmən]. bekommen is at rank #336, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈkɔmən].
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 6142, this pair ranks #1,992,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bekamen vs bekommen
Shared letters: bekmn. Private to "bekamen": a. Private to "bekommen": o.
"bekamen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "bekommen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bekamen" and "bekommen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "bekamen" or "bekommen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bekamen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bekommen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,992,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bekamen" and "bekommen" 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 #1,992,575 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.