berüchtigtvsberuhigtWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#35,100
“berüchtigt” frequency rank
#5,915
“beruhigt” frequency rank
41015
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature berüchtigt beruhigt
Definition übel beleumdet, für schlechte Eigenschaften oder Taten bekannt Partizip Perfekt des Verbs beruhigen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set berüchtigt and beruhigt apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
berüchtigt
8 ch
beruhigt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: berüchtigt is [bəˈʁʏçtɪçt] while beruhigt is [bəˈʁuːɪçt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41015, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

berüchtigt is recorded at frequency rank #35,100, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁʏçtɪçt]. beruhigt is at rank #5,915, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁuːɪçt].

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 41015, this pair ranks #1,491,751 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of berüchtigt vs beruhigt

Shared letters: beghirt. Private to "berüchtigt": . Private to "beruhigt": u.

"berüchtigt" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCC  ·  "beruhigt" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beruhigtbberuhigt · berhuigt · berruhigt · beruhgit · beruhhigt · beruhiggt · beruhigtt · beruhitg

Frequency comparison

berüchtigt#35,100
beruhigt#5,915

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "berüchtigt" and "beruhigt" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "berüchtigt" is an adjective and "beruhigt" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "berüchtigt" or "beruhigt"?
"beruhigt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,915 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.

Remembering berüchtigt vs beruhigt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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