beschäftigevsBeschäftigteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: beschäftige is a verb, Beschäftigte is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“beschäftige” is a verb and “Beschäftigte” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,532
“beschäftige” frequency rank
#5,065
“Beschäftigte” frequency rank
22597
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beschäftige Beschäftigte
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs beschäftigen eine weibliche Person, die einer nichtselbstständigen Tätigkeit nachgeht

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set beschäftige and Beschäftigte apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
beschäftige
12 ch
Beschäftigte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beschäftige is [bəˈʃɛftɪɡə] while Beschäftigte is [bəˈʃɛftɪçtə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22597, 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]. Beschäftigte is at rank #5,065, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪçtə].

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 22597, this pair ranks #1,872,216 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beschäftige vs Beschäftigte

Shared letters: bcefghistä. Private to "beschäftige": -. Private to "Beschäftigte": -.

"beschäftige" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCV  ·  "Beschäftigte" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCV

Frequency comparison

beschäftige#17,532
Beschäftigte#5,065

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beschäftige" and "Beschäftigte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "beschäftige" is a verb and "Beschäftigte" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "beschäftige" or "Beschäftigte"?
"Beschäftigte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,065 in our German list, against #17,532 for "beschäftige". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering beschäftige vs Beschäftigte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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