Which to use
“beschäftige” is a verb and “beschäftigt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,532
- “beschäftige” frequency rank
- #1,347
- “beschäftigt” frequency rank
- 18879
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beschäftige | beschäftigt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs beschäftigen | ausgelastet durch (bezahlte) Tätigkeit |
Where the eye mixes beschäftige and beschäftigt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. beschäftige (CVCCCVCCVCV) and beschäftigt (CVCCCVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: beschäftige vs beschäftigt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beschäftige is [bəˈʃɛftɪɡə] while beschäftigt is [bəˈʃɛftɪçt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “beschäftige” becomes t in “beschäftigt”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18879, 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]. beschäftigt is at rank #1,347, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪçt].
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 18879, this pair ranks #1,913,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beschäftige vs beschäftigt
Shared letters: bcefghistä. Private to "beschäftige": -. Private to "beschäftigt": -.
"beschäftige" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCV · "beschäftigt" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "beschäftige" for "beschäftigt" ever safe?
Which is more common, "beschäftige" or "beschäftigt"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "beschäftige" and "beschäftigt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "beschäftige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "beschäftigt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,913,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beschäftige" and "beschäftigt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschäftige vs Beschäftigter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,913,952 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.