berechtigtevsberüchtigtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,247
“berechtigte” frequency rank
#35,100
“berüchtigt” frequency rank
47347
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature berechtigte berüchtigt
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs berechtigt übel beleumdet, für schlechte Eigenschaften oder Taten bekannt

Where the eye mixes berechtigte and berüchtigt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. berechtigte runs 11 letters (CVCVCCCVCCV) against berüchtigt's 10 (CVCVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

11 ch
berechtigte
10 ch
berüchtigt

Look-alike desk: berechtigte vs berüchtigt

A purely visual mix-up. berechtigte ([bəˈʁɛçtɪçtə]) and berüchtigt ([bəˈʁʏçtɪçt]) 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 47347, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

berechtigte is recorded at frequency rank #12,247, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁɛçtɪçtə]. berüchtigt is at rank #35,100, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁʏçtɪçt].

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 47347, this pair ranks #1,287,454 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of berechtigte vs berüchtigt

Shared letters: bceghirt. Private to "berechtigte": -. Private to "berüchtigt": ü.

"berechtigte" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCCV  ·  "berüchtigt" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • berechtigtebberechtigte · beerchtigte · bercehtigte · berecchtigte · berechhtigte · berechitgte · berechtgite · berechtiget

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "berechtigte" for "berüchtigt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʁɛçtɪçtə] versus [bəˈʁʏçtɪçt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "berechtigte" vs "berüchtigt" - which ranks higher?
"berechtigte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,247 in our German list, against #35,100 for "berüchtigt". 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 "berechtigte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "berüchtigt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,287,454 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "berechtigte" and "berüchtigt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "berichtigt vs berüchtigt". 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 #1,287,454 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