benötigevsbenötigstTell them apart

Which to use

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

#14,518
“benötige” frequency rank
#35,096
“benötigst” frequency rank
49614
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature benötige benötigst
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs benötigen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs benötigen

Where the eye mixes benötige and benötigst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
benötige
9 ch
benötigst

Look-alike desk: benötige vs benötigst

A purely visual mix-up. benötige ([bəˈnøːtɪɡə]) and benötigst ([bəˈnøːtɪçst]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49614, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

benötige is recorded at frequency rank #14,518, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈnøːtɪɡə]. benötigst is at rank #35,096, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈnøːtɪçst].

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 49614, this pair ranks #1,204,817 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of benötige vs benötigst

Shared letters: begintö. Private to "benötige": -. Private to "benötigst": s.

"benötige" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "benötigst" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "benötige" for "benötigst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈnøːtɪɡə] versus [bəˈnøːtɪçst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "benötige" or "benötigst" show up more?
"benötige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,518 in our German list, against #35,096 for "benötigst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "benötige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "benötigst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,204,817 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "benötige" and "benötigst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "benötigst vs benötigte". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,204,817 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