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 eye mixes beschäftige and Beschäftigte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. beschäftige runs 11 letters (CVCCCVCCVCV) against Beschäftigte's 12 (CVCCCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: beschäftige vs Beschäftigte
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "beschäftige" and "Beschäftigte" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "beschäftige" or "Beschäftigte" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "beschäftige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Beschäftigte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,872,216 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beschäftige" and "Beschäftigte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschäftige vs Beschäftigter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,872,216 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.