beschäftigtvsbeschäftigtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“beschäftigt” and “beschäftigten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,347
“beschäftigt” frequency rank
#5,066
“beschäftigten” frequency rank
6413
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beschäftigt beschäftigten
Definition ausgelastet durch (bezahlte) Tätigkeit Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs beschäftigt

Where the spellings diverge

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

11 ch
beschäftigt
13 ch
beschäftigten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. beschäftigt ([bəˈʃɛftɪçt]) and beschäftigten ([bəˈʃɛftɪçtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “beschäftigt” sits inside “beschäftigten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beschäftigt is recorded at frequency rank #1,347, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪçt]. 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 6413, this pair ranks #1,991,724 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beschäftigt vs beschäftigten

Shared letters: bcefghistä. Private to "beschäftigt": -. Private to "beschäftigten": n.

"beschäftigt" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCC  ·  "beschäftigten" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

beschäftigt#1,347
beschäftigten#5,066

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beschäftigt" and "beschäftigten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃɛftɪçt] versus [bəˈʃɛftɪçtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "beschäftigt" or "beschäftigten"?
"beschäftigt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,347 in our German list, against #5,066 for "beschäftigten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering beschäftigt vs beschäftigten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “beschäftigt” 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