beschränkenvsbeschränkteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: beschränken is a verb, beschränkte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“beschränken” is a verb and “beschränkte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,519
“beschränken” frequency rank
#15,312
“beschränkte” frequency rank
23831
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beschränken beschränkte
Definition einschränken, einengen; begrenzen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs beschränkt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set beschränken and beschränkte apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
beschränken
11 ch
beschränkte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beschränken is [bəˈʃʁɛŋkn̩] while beschränkte is [bəˈʃʁɛŋktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beschränken is recorded at frequency rank #8,519, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃʁɛŋkn̩]. beschränkte is at rank #15,312, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃʁɛŋktə].

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 23831, this pair ranks #1,856,057 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beschränken vs beschränkte

Shared letters: bcehknrsä. Private to "beschränken": -. Private to "beschränkte": t.

"beschränken" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC  ·  "beschränkte" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCV

Frequency comparison

beschränken#8,519
beschränkte#15,312

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beschränken" and "beschränkte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "beschränken" is a verb and "beschränkte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "beschränken" or "beschränkte"?
"beschränken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,519 in our German list, against #15,312 for "beschränkte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering beschränken vs beschränkte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “beschränken”; for an adjective, it's “beschränkte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “beschränken” 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