Which to use
“bekannt” is an adjective and “bekenne” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #463
- “bekannt” frequency rank
- #43,048
- “bekenne” frequency rank
- 43511
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bekannt | bekenne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von vielen gekannt, im Allgemeinwissen vorhanden | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bekennen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bekannt and bekenne apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
bekannt and bekenne form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bekannt is recorded at frequency rank #463, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈkant]. bekenne is at rank #43,048, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈkɛnə].
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 43511, this pair ranks #1,415,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bekannt" and "bekenne" be used interchangeably?
Remembering bekannt vs bekenne
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “bekannt”; for a verb, it's “bekenne”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bekannt” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable