beklagenvsbeklagtenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: beklagen is a verb, beklagten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“beklagen” is a verb and “beklagten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,428
“beklagen” frequency rank
#12,673
“beklagten” frequency rank
23101
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beklagen beklagten
Definition seinen Unmut über etwas äußern Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs beklagt

Where the eye mixes beklagen and beklagten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
beklagen
9 ch
beklagten

Visual trap between beklagen and beklagten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beklagen is [bəˈklaːɡn̩] while beklagten is [bəˈklaːktn̩]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23101, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beklagen is recorded at frequency rank #10,428, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈklaːɡn̩]. beklagten is at rank #12,673, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈklaːktn̩].

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 23101, this pair ranks #1,865,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beklagen vs beklagten

Shared letters: abegkln. Private to "beklagen": -. Private to "beklagten": t.

"beklagen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "beklagten" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beklagenbbeklagen · bekalgen · bekklagen · beklaegn · beklagenn · beklaggen · beklagne · beklgaen
  • beklagtenbbeklagten · bekalgten · bekklagten · beklagetn · beklaggten · beklagtenn · beklagtne · beklagtten

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "beklagen" for "beklagten" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "beklagen" is a verb and "beklagten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "beklagen" or "beklagten"?
"beklagen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,428 in our German list, against #12,673 for "beklagten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "beklagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "beklagten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,865,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beklagen" and "beklagten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beilegen vs beklagen". 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 #1,865,776 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