Which to use
“beschäftige” and “beschäftigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,532
- “beschäftige” frequency rank
- #3,232
- “beschäftigen” frequency rank
- 20764
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beschäftige | beschäftigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs beschäftigen | etwas ist die jetzige Tätigkeit einer Person; mit Betonung der beschäftigenden Sache |
Where the eye mixes beschäftige and beschäftigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. beschäftige runs 11 letters (CVCCCVCCVCV) against beschäftigen's 12 (CVCCCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: beschäftige vs beschäftigen
A purely visual mix-up. beschäftige ([bəˈʃɛftɪɡə]) and beschäftigen ([bəˈʃɛftɪɡn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “beschäftige” sits inside “beschäftigen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20764, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beschäftige is recorded at frequency rank #17,532, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪɡə]. beschäftigen is at rank #3,232, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪɡn̩].
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 20764, this pair ranks #1,894,022 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beschäftige vs beschäftigen
Shared letters: bcefghistä. Private to "beschäftige": -. Private to "beschäftigen": n.
"beschäftige" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCV · "beschäftigen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "beschäftige" and "beschäftigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "beschäftige" vs "beschäftigen" - which ranks higher?
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 "beschäftige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "beschäftigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,894,022 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beschäftige" and "beschäftigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschäftige vs Beschäftigter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,894,022 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.