beschränkenvsbeschränktenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#8,519
“beschränken” frequency rank
#20,859
“beschränkten” frequency rank
29378
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beschränken beschränkten
Definition einschränken, einengen; begrenzen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs beschränkt

Where the spellings diverge

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

11 ch
beschränken
12 ch
beschränkten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beschränken is [bəˈʃʁɛŋkn̩] while beschränkten is [bəˈʃʁɛŋktn̩]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29378, 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]. beschränkten is at rank #20,859, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃʁɛŋktn̩].

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 29378, this pair ranks #1,767,890 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beschränken vs beschränkten

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

"beschränken" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCVC  ·  "beschränkten" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVC

Frequency comparison

beschränken#8,519
beschränkten#20,859

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beschränken" and "beschränkten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "beschränken" is a verb and "beschränkten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "beschränken" or "beschränkten"?
"beschränken" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,519 in our German list, against #20,859 for "beschränkten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering beschränken vs beschränkten

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 “beschränkten”.
  • 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