Which to use
“beschäftige” is a verb and “beschäftigten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,532
- “beschäftige” frequency rank
- #5,066
- “beschäftigten” frequency rank
- 22598
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beschäftige | beschäftigten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs beschäftigen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs beschäftigt |
Where the eye mixes beschäftige and beschäftigten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. beschäftige runs 11 letters (CVCCCVCCVCV) against beschäftigten's 13 (CVCCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: beschäftige vs beschäftigten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beschäftige is [bəˈʃɛftɪɡə] while beschäftigten is [bəˈʃɛftɪçtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22598, 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]. beschäftigten is at rank #5,066, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪçtn̩].
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 22598, this pair ranks #1,872,199 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beschäftige vs beschäftigten
Shared letters: bcefghistä. Private to "beschäftige": -. Private to "beschäftigten": n.
"beschäftige" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCV · "beschäftigten" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "beschäftige" and "beschäftigten" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "beschäftige" vs "beschäftigten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "beschäftige" and "beschäftigten" 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 "beschäftigten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,872,199 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beschäftige" and "beschäftigten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschäftige vs Beschäftigter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,872,199 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.