Which to use
“beschäftigen” is a verb and “beschäftigten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,232
- “beschäftigen” frequency rank
- #5,066
- “beschäftigten” frequency rank
- 8298
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beschäftigen | beschäftigten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas ist die jetzige Tätigkeit einer Person; mit Betonung der beschäftigenden Sache | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs beschäftigt |
Where the eye mixes beschäftigen and beschäftigten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. beschäftigen runs 12 letters (CVCCCVCCVCVC) against beschäftigten's 13 (CVCCCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between beschäftigen and beschäftigten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beschäftigen is [bəˈʃɛftɪɡn̩] while beschäftigten is [bəˈʃɛftɪçtn̩]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8298, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beschäftigen is recorded at frequency rank #3,232, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪɡn̩]. 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 8298, this pair ranks #1,984,840 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beschäftigen vs beschäftigten
Shared letters: bcefghinstä. Private to "beschäftigen": -. Private to "beschäftigten": -.
"beschäftigen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCVC · "beschäftigten" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "beschäftigen" for "beschäftigten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "beschäftigen" vs "beschäftigten" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "beschäftigen" and "beschäftigten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "beschäftigen" 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 #1,984,840 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beschäftigen" and "beschäftigten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschäftigten vs Beschäftigter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,984,840 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.