Which to use
“beobachten” and “beobachtet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,582
- “beobachten” frequency rank
- #2,535
- “beobachtet” frequency rank
- 5117
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beobachten | beobachtet |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | genau betrachten, überwachen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs beobachten |
Where the eye mixes beobachten and beobachtet
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. beobachten and beobachtet follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses beobachten with beobachtet
A purely visual mix-up. beobachten ([bəˈʔoːbaxtn̩]) and beobachtet ([bəˈʔoːbaxtət]) 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 “beobachten” becomes t in “beobachtet”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5117, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beobachten is recorded at frequency rank #2,582, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʔoːbaxtn̩]. beobachtet is at rank #2,535, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʔoːbaxtət].
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 5117, this pair ranks #1,995,743 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beobachten vs beobachtet
Shared letters: abcehot. Private to "beobachten": n. Private to "beobachtet": -.
"beobachten" · 10 letters · shape CVVCVCCCVC · "beobachtet" · 10 letters · shape CVVCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- beobachten ← bbeobachten · beboachten · beoabchten · beobacchten · beobachetn · beobachhten · beobachtenn · beobachtne
- beobachtet ← bbeobachtet · beboachtet · beoabchtet · beobacchtet · beobachett · beobachhtet · beobachtett · beobachtte
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "beobachten" for "beobachtet" ever safe?
Frequency check: "beobachten" vs "beobachtet" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "beobachten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "beobachtet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,995,743 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beobachten" and "beobachtet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beobachten vs Beobachtern". 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 #1,995,743 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.