berichtetenvsberichtigenTell them apart

Quick tell: berichteten is a adjective, berichtigen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#11,823
“berichteten” frequency rank
#41,068
“berichtigen” frequency rank
52891
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature berichteten berichtigen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs berichtet die Fehler in etwas entfernen oder diese ansprechen und der richtigen Entsprechung gegenüberstellen

Where the eye mixes berichteten and berichtigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

11 ch
berichteten
11 ch
berichtigen

Why the eye confuses berichteten with berichtigen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: berichteten is [bəˈʁɪçtətn̩] while berichtigen is [bəˈʁɪçtɪɡn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52891, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

berichteten is recorded at frequency rank #11,823, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁɪçtətn̩]. berichtigen is at rank #41,068, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁɪçtɪɡn̩].

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 52891, this pair ranks #1,079,262 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of berichteten vs berichtigen

Shared letters: bcehinrt. Private to "berichteten": -. Private to "berichtigen": g.

"berichteten" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC  ·  "berichtigen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • berichtetenbberichteten · beirchteten · bercihteten · bericchteten · berichetten · berichhteten · berichteetn · berichtetenn
  • berichtigenbberichtigen · beirchtigen · bercihtigen · bericchtigen · berichhtigen · berichitgen · berichtgien · berichtiegn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "berichteten" and "berichtigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "berichteten" is an adjective and "berichtigen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "berichteten" or "berichtigen"?
"berichteten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,823 in our German list, against #41,068 for "berichtigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "berichteten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "berichtigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,079,262 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "berichteten" and "berichtigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "berechtigen vs berichtigen". 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 #1,079,262 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