Which to use
“beschäftigten” is an adjective and “Beschäftigter” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,066
- “beschäftigten” frequency rank
- #46,520
- “Beschäftigter” frequency rank
- 51586
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beschäftigten | Beschäftigter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs beschäftigt | eine Person, die einer nichtselbstständigen Tätigkeit nachgeht |
Where the eye mixes beschäftigten and Beschäftigter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 12 letters in sequence. beschäftigten and Beschäftigter follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCVCCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between beschäftigten and Beschäftigter
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beschäftigten is [bəˈʃɛftɪçtn̩] while Beschäftigter is [bəˈʃɛftɪçtɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “beschäftigten” becomes r in “Beschäftigter”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beschäftigten is recorded at frequency rank #5,066, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪçtn̩]. 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 51586, this pair ranks #1,129,825 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of beschäftigten vs Beschäftigter
Shared letters: bcefghistä. Private to "beschäftigten": n. Private to "Beschäftigter": r.
"beschäftigten" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCVC · "Beschäftigter" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "beschäftigten" and "Beschäftigter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "beschäftigten" or "Beschäftigter"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "beschäftigten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Beschäftigter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,129,825 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beschäftigten" and "Beschäftigter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschäftige vs Beschäftigter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,129,825 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.