Which to use
“beleuchten” is a verb and “beleuchteten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,928
- “beleuchten” frequency rank
- #31,956
- “beleuchteten” frequency rank
- 48884
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beleuchten | beleuchteten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mit Licht anstrahlen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs beleuchtet |
Where the eye mixes beleuchten and beleuchteten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. beleuchten runs 10 letters (CVCVVCCCVC) against beleuchteten's 12 (CVCVVCCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: beleuchten vs beleuchteten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beleuchten is [bəˈlɔɪ̯çtn̩] while beleuchteten is [bəˈlɔɪ̯çtətn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 48884, 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]. beleuchteten is at rank #31,956, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈlɔɪ̯çtətn̩].
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 48884, this pair ranks #1,231,937 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of beleuchten vs beleuchteten
Shared letters: bcehlntu. Private to "beleuchten": -. Private to "beleuchteten": -.
"beleuchten" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCCVC · "beleuchteten" · 12 letters · shape CVCVVCCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- beleuchten ← bbeleuchten · beeluchten · belecuhten · beleucchten · beleuchetn · beleuchhten · beleuchtenn · beleuchtne
- beleuchteten ← bbeleuchteten · beeluchteten · belecuhteten · beleucchteten · beleuchetten · beleuchhteten · beleuchteetn · beleuchtetenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "beleuchten" and "beleuchteten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "beleuchten" or "beleuchteten"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "beleuchten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "beleuchteten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,231,937 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beleuchten" and "beleuchteten" 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 #1,231,937 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.