beschäftigevsBeschäftigterWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#17,532
“beschäftige” frequency rank
#46,520
“Beschäftigter” frequency rank
64052
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

11 ch
beschäftige
13 ch
Beschäftigter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

beschäftige and Beschäftigter form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64052, 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]. Beschäftigter is at rank #46,520, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪçtɐ].

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 64052, this pair ranks #655,065 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

beschäftige#17,532
Beschäftigter#46,520

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beschäftige" and "Beschäftigter" be used interchangeably?
No, "beschäftige" and "Beschäftigter" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering beschäftige vs Beschäftigter

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 “Beschäftigter”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list