bekennenvsbekenntConfusable pair

Which to use

“bekennen” and “bekennt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,672
“bekennen” frequency rank
#14,248
“bekennt” frequency rank
26920
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bekennen bekennt
Definition etwas offen zugeben; etwas öffentlich sagen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bekennen

Where the eye mixes bekennen and bekennt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bekennen runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against bekennt's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
bekennen
7 ch
bekennt

Look-alike desk: bekennen vs bekennt

A purely visual mix-up. bekennen ([bəˈkɛnən]) and bekennt ([bəˈkɛnt]) 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 26920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bekennen is recorded at frequency rank #12,672, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈkɛnən]. bekennt is at rank #14,248, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈkɛnt].

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 26920, this pair ranks #1,810,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bekennen vs bekennt

Shared letters: bekn. Private to "bekennen": -. Private to "bekennt": t.

"bekennen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "bekennt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bekennenbbekennen · beeknnen · bekenen · bekenenn · bekennenn · bekennne · bekkennen · beknenen
  • bekenntbbekennt · beeknnt · bekenntt · bekent · bekentn · bekkennt · beknent · bkeennt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bekennen" for "bekennt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈkɛnən] versus [bəˈkɛnt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bekennen" or "bekennt"?
"bekennen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,672 in our German list, against #14,248 for "bekennt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bekennen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bekennt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,810,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bekennen" and "bekennt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bekenne vs bekennt". 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 #1,810,224 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list