Which to use
“beschreibe” and “beschreiben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,960
- “beschreibe” frequency rank
- #3,712
- “beschreiben” frequency rank
- 35672
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beschreibe | beschreiben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs beschreiben | ein Schriftstück oder Objekt mit Text versehen |
Where the eye mixes beschreibe and beschreiben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. beschreibe runs 10 letters (CVCCCCVVCV) against beschreiben's 11 (CVCCCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: beschreibe vs beschreiben
A purely visual mix-up. beschreibe ([bəˈʃʁaɪ̯bə]) and beschreiben ([bəˈʃʁaɪ̯bn̩]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “beschreibe” sits inside “beschreiben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35672, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beschreibe is recorded at frequency rank #31,960, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃʁaɪ̯bə]. beschreiben is at rank #3,712, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃʁaɪ̯bn̩].
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 35672, this pair ranks #1,634,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beschreibe vs beschreiben
Shared letters: bcehirs. Private to "beschreibe": -. Private to "beschreiben": n.
"beschreibe" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCCVVCV · "beschreiben" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- beschreibe ← bbeschreibe · becshreibe · bescchreibe · bescheribe · beschhreibe · beschrebie · beschreibbe · beschreieb
- beschreiben ← bbeschreiben · becshreiben · bescchreiben · bescheriben · beschhreiben · beschrebien · beschreibben · beschreibenn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "beschreibe" for "beschreiben" ever safe?
Frequency check: "beschreibe" vs "beschreiben" - which ranks higher?
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 "beschreibe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "beschreiben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,634,349 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beschreibe" and "beschreiben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beschreibe vs beschreiten". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,634,349 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.