bemaltvsbemalteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#21,189
“bemalt” frequency rank
#40,430
“bemalte” frequency rank
61619
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bemalt bemalte
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs bemalen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bemalt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bemalt and bemalte apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
bemalt
7 ch
bemalte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bemalt is [bəˈmaːlt] while bemalte is [bəˈmaːltə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “bemalt” sits inside “bemalte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61619, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bemalt is recorded at frequency rank #21,189, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈmaːlt]. bemalte is at rank #40,430, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈmaːltə].

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 61619, this pair ranks #742,931 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bemalt vs bemalte

Shared letters: abelmt. Private to "bemalt": -. Private to "bemalte": -.

"bemalt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "bemalte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bemaltbbemalt · beamlt · bemallt · bemaltt · bematl · bemlat · bemmalt · bmealt
  • bemaltebbemalte · beamlte · bemalet · bemallte · bemaltte · bematle · bemlate · bemmalte

Frequency comparison

bemalt#21,189
bemalte#40,430

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bemalt" and "bemalte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bemalt" is a verb and "bemalte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bemalt" or "bemalte"?
"bemalt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,189 in our German list, against #40,430 for "bemalte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bemalt vs bemalte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “bemalt”; for an adjective, it's “bemalte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bemalt” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list