beschädigenvsbeschädigtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#22,653
“beschädigen” frequency rank
#4,772
“beschädigt” frequency rank
27425
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beschädigen beschädigt
Definition etwas einen Schaden zufügen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs beschädigen

Where the eye mixes beschädigen and beschädigt

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

11 ch
beschädigen
10 ch
beschädigt

Why the eye confuses beschädigen with beschädigt

A purely visual mix-up. beschädigen ([bəˈʃɛːdɪɡn̩]) and beschädigt ([bəˈʃɛːdɪçt]) 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 27425, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beschädigen is recorded at frequency rank #22,653, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃɛːdɪɡn̩]. beschädigt is at rank #4,772, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃɛːdɪçt].

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 27425, this pair ranks #1,801,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beschädigen vs beschädigt

Shared letters: bcdeghisä. Private to "beschädigen": n. Private to "beschädigt": t.

"beschädigen" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCVC  ·  "beschädigt" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beschädigen" and "beschädigt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃɛːdɪɡn̩] versus [bəˈʃɛːdɪçt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "beschädigen" vs "beschädigt" - which ranks higher?
"beschädigt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,772 in our German list, against #22,653 for "beschädigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "beschädigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "beschädigt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,801,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beschädigen" and "beschädigt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschädigen vs beschuldigen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,801,981 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