benötigevsbenötigteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#14,518
“benötige” frequency rank
#8,839
“benötigte” frequency rank
23357
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature benötige benötigte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs benötigen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs benötigt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set benötige and benötigte apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
benötige
9 ch
benötigte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: benötige is [bəˈnøːtɪɡə] while benötigte is [bəˈnøːtɪçtə]. 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 23357, 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]. benötigte is at rank #8,839, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈnøːtɪçtə].

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 23357, this pair ranks #1,862,340 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of benötige vs benötigte

Shared letters: begintö. Private to "benötige": -. Private to "benötigte": -.

"benötige" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV  ·  "benötigte" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV

Frequency comparison

benötige#14,518
benötigte#8,839

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "benötige" and "benötigte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "benötige" is a verb and "benötigte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "benötige" or "benötigte"?
"benötigte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,839 in our German list, against #14,518 for "benötige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering benötige vs benötigte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “benötige”; for an adjective, it's “benötigte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “benötige” 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