Which to use
“beobachten” is a verb and “beobachtete” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,582
- “beobachten” frequency rank
- #12,034
- “beobachtete” frequency rank
- 14616
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beobachten | beobachtete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | genau betrachten, überwachen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs beobachtet |
Where the eye mixes beobachten and beobachtete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. beobachten runs 10 letters (CVVCVCCCVC) against beobachtete's 11 (CVVCVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between beobachten and beobachtete
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beobachten is [bəˈʔoːbaxtn̩] while beobachtete is [bəˈʔoːbaxtətə]. 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 14616, 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]. beobachtete is at rank #12,034, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʔoːbaxtətə].
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 14616, this pair ranks #1,949,957 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beobachten vs beobachtete
Shared letters: abcehot. Private to "beobachten": n. Private to "beobachtete": -.
"beobachten" · 10 letters · shape CVVCVCCCVC · "beobachtete" · 11 letters · shape CVVCVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- beobachten ← bbeobachten · beboachten · beoabchten · beobacchten · beobachetn · beobachhten · beobachtenn · beobachtne
- beobachtete ← bbeobachtete · beboachtete · beoabchtete · beobacchtete · beobachette · beobachhtete · beobachteet · beobachtette
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "beobachten" and "beobachtete" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "beobachten" or "beobachtete"?
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 "beobachtete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,949,957 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beobachten" and "beobachtete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beachtete vs beobachtete". 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 #1,949,957 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.