Which to use
“beleuchten” is a verb and “beleuchtete” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,928
- “beleuchten” frequency rank
- #29,957
- “beleuchtete” frequency rank
- 46885
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beleuchten | beleuchtete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit Licht anstrahlen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs beleuchtet |
Where the eye mixes beleuchten and beleuchtete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. beleuchten runs 10 letters (CVCVVCCCVC) against beleuchtete's 11 (CVCVVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses beleuchten with beleuchtete
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beleuchten is [bəˈlɔɪ̯çtn̩] while beleuchtete is [bəˈlɔɪ̯çtətə]. 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 46885, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beleuchten is recorded at frequency rank #16,928, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈlɔɪ̯çtn̩]. beleuchtete is at rank #29,957, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈlɔɪ̯çtətə].
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 46885, this pair ranks #1,303,572 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of beleuchten vs beleuchtete
Shared letters: bcehltu. Private to "beleuchten": n. Private to "beleuchtete": -.
"beleuchten" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCCVC · "beleuchtete" · 11 letters · shape CVCVVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- beleuchten ← bbeleuchten · beeluchten · belecuhten · beleucchten · beleuchetn · beleuchhten · beleuchtenn · beleuchtne
- beleuchtete ← bbeleuchtete · beeluchtete · belecuhtete · beleucchtete · beleuchette · beleuchhtete · beleuchteet · beleuchtette
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "beleuchten" and "beleuchtete" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "beleuchten" or "beleuchtete" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "beleuchten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "beleuchtete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,303,572 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beleuchten" and "beleuchtete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beleuchtete vs beleuchteten". 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 #1,303,572 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.