Which to use
“Bekannten” is a noun and “bekennen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,584
- “Bekannten” frequency rank
- #12,672
- “bekennen” frequency rank
- 14256
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Bekannten | bekennen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular der starken Flexion des Substantivs Bekannter | etwas offen zugeben; etwas öffentlich sagen |
Where the eye mixes Bekannten and bekennen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Bekannten runs 9 letters (CVCVCCCVC) against bekennen's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Bekannten with bekennen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Bekannten is [bəˈkantn̩] while bekennen is [bəˈkɛnən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14256, 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]. bekennen is at rank #12,672, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈkɛnən].
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 14256, this pair ranks #1,952,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Bekannten vs bekennen
Shared letters: bekn. Private to "Bekannten": at. Private to "bekennen": -.
"Bekannten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC · "bekennen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Bekannten" for "bekennen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Bekannten" or "bekennen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Bekannten" and "bekennen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Bekannten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bekennen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,952,493 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Bekannten" and "bekennen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bekennen vs bekennende". 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 #1,952,493 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.