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 eye mixes bekannt and bekenne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. bekannt (CVCVCCC) and bekenne (CVCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: bekannt vs bekenne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bekannt is [bəˈkant] while bekenne is [bəˈkɛnə]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. 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.
Orthographic DNA of bekannt vs bekenne
Shared letters: bekn. Private to "bekannt": at. Private to "bekenne": -.
"bekannt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "bekenne" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bekannt" and "bekenne" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "bekannt" vs "bekenne" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bekannt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bekenne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,415,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bekannt" and "bekenne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bekenne vs brenne". 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 #1,415,760 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.