bemängelnvsbemängeltTell them apart

Which to use

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

#30,948
“bemängeln” frequency rank
#22,273
“bemängelt” frequency rank
53221
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bemängeln bemängelt
Definition Mängel an einer Sache konstatieren und kritisieren 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bemängeln

Where the eye mixes bemängeln and bemängelt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bemängeln and bemängelt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
bemängeln
9 ch
bemängelt

Why the eye confuses bemängeln with bemängelt

A purely visual mix-up. bemängeln ([bəˈmɛŋl̩n]) and bemängelt ([bəˈmɛŋl̩t]) 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 a single letter - n in “bemängeln” becomes t in “bemängelt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53221, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bemängeln is recorded at frequency rank #30,948, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈmɛŋl̩n]. bemängelt is at rank #22,273, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈmɛŋl̩t].

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 53221, this pair ranks #1,066,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bemängeln vs bemängelt

Shared letters: beglmnä. Private to "bemängeln": -. Private to "bemängelt": t.

"bemängeln" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "bemängelt" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bemängeln" for "bemängelt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈmɛŋl̩n] versus [bəˈmɛŋl̩t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bemängeln" or "bemängelt"?
"bemängelt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,273 in our German list, against #30,948 for "bemängeln". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bemängeln" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bemängelt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,066,507 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bemängeln" and "bemängelt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befangen vs bemängeln". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,066,507 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