BekanntenvsbekanntesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Bekannten is a noun, bekanntes is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Bekannten” is a noun and “bekanntes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,584
“Bekannten” frequency rank
#15,574
“bekanntes” frequency rank
17158
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bekannten bekanntes
Definition Genitiv Singular der starken Flexion des Substantivs Bekannter Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs bekannt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Bekannten and bekanntes apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
Bekannten
9 ch
bekanntes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Bekannten and bekanntes form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - n in “Bekannten” becomes s in “bekanntes” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17158, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bekannten is recorded at frequency rank #1,584, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈkantn̩]. bekanntes is at rank #15,574, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈkantəs].

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 17158, this pair ranks #1,929,863 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

Bekannten#1,584
bekanntes#15,574

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Bekannten" and "bekanntes" be used interchangeably?
No, "Bekannten" and "bekanntes" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering Bekannten vs bekanntes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Bekannten”; for an adjective, it's “bekanntes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Bekannten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list