BeschäftigungvsBeschäftigungenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,963
“Beschäftigung” frequency rank
#41,071
“Beschäftigungen” frequency rank
46034
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Beschäftigung Beschäftigungen
Definition eine Arbeitsstelle, Job, nichtselbständiges Arbeitsverhältnis Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Beschäftigung

Where the eye mixes Beschäftigung and Beschäftigungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 13 letters in sequence. Beschäftigung runs 13 letters (CVCCCVCCVCVCC) against Beschäftigungen's 15 (CVCCCVCCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
Beschäftigung
15 ch
Beschäftigungen

Look-alike desk: Beschäftigung vs Beschäftigungen

A purely visual mix-up. Beschäftigung ([bəˈʃɛftɪɡʊŋ]) and Beschäftigungen ([bəˈʃɛftɪɡʊŋən]) 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) - “Beschäftigung” sits inside “Beschäftigungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46034, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Beschäftigung is recorded at frequency rank #4,963, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪɡʊŋ]. Beschäftigungen is at rank #41,071, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʃɛftɪɡʊŋən].

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 46034, this pair ranks #1,332,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Beschäftigung vs Beschäftigungen

Shared letters: bcefghinstuä. Private to "Beschäftigung": -. Private to "Beschäftigungen": -.

"Beschäftigung" · 13 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCVCC  ·  "Beschäftigungen" · 15 letters · shape CVCCCVCCVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Beschäftigung" for "Beschäftigungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃɛftɪɡʊŋ] versus [bəˈʃɛftɪɡʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Beschäftigung" or "Beschäftigungen"?
"Beschäftigung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,963 in our German list, against #41,071 for "Beschäftigungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Beschäftigung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Beschäftigungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,332,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Beschäftigung" and "Beschäftigungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Beschädigungen vs Beschäftigungen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,332,779 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list