beschränktenvsbeschränkterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#20,859
“beschränkten” frequency rank
#32,443
“beschränkter” frequency rank
53302
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beschränkten beschränkter
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs beschränkt Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs beschränkt

Where the eye mixes beschränkten and beschränkter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 11 letters in sequence. beschränkten and beschränkter follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

12 ch
beschränkten
12 ch
beschränkter

Why the eye confuses beschränkten with beschränkter

A purely visual mix-up. beschränkten ([bəˈʃʁɛŋktn̩]) and beschränkter ([bəˈʃʁɛŋktɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “beschränkten” becomes r in “beschränkter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53302, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beschränkten is recorded at frequency rank #20,859, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃʁɛŋktn̩]. beschränkter is at rank #32,443, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃʁɛŋktɐ].

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 53302, this pair ranks #1,063,314 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of beschränkten vs beschränkter

Shared letters: bcehknrstä. Private to "beschränkten": -. Private to "beschränkter": -.

"beschränkten" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVC  ·  "beschränkter" · 12 letters · shape CVCCCCVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "beschränkten" for "beschränkter" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃʁɛŋktn̩] versus [bəˈʃʁɛŋktɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "beschränkten" or "beschränkter"?
"beschränkten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,859 in our German list, against #32,443 for "beschränkter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "beschränkten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "beschränkter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,063,314 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beschränkten" and "beschränkter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschränkte vs beschränkter". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,063,314 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