Which to use
“beschäftigen” is a verb and “Beschäftigung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,232
- “beschäftigen” frequency rank
- #4,963
- “Beschäftigung” frequency rank
- 8195
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beschäftigen | Beschäftigung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas ist die jetzige Tätigkeit einer Person; mit Betonung der beschäftigenden Sache | eine Arbeitsstelle, Job, nichtselbständiges Arbeitsverhältnis |
Where the eye mixes beschäftigen and Beschäftigung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. beschäftigen runs 12 letters (CVCCCVCCVCVC) against Beschäftigung's 13 (CVCCCVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: beschäftigen vs Beschäftigung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beschäftigen is [bəˈʃɛftɪɡn̩] while Beschäftigung is [bəˈʃɛftɪɡʊŋ]. 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 8195, 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]. Beschäftigung is at rank #4,963, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪɡʊŋ].
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 8195, this pair ranks #1,985,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beschäftigen vs Beschäftigung
Shared letters: bcefghinstä. Private to "beschäftigen": -. Private to "Beschäftigung": u.
"beschäftigen" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCVC · "Beschäftigung" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "beschäftigen" and "Beschäftigung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "beschäftigen" or "Beschäftigung" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "beschäftigen" and "Beschäftigung" 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 "Beschäftigung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,985,251 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beschäftigen" and "Beschäftigung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschäftigen vs Beschäftigter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,985,251 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.