Which to use
“besetzen” is a verb and “besetzten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,729
- “besetzen” frequency rank
- #7,157
- “besetzten” frequency rank
- 14886
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | besetzen | besetzten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen Ort belegen, einen Platz einnehmen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs besetzt |
Where the eye mixes besetzen and besetzten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: besetzen vs besetzten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: besetzen is [bəˈzɛt͡sn̩] while besetzten is [bəˈzɛt͡stn̩]. 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 14886, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
besetzen is recorded at frequency rank #7,729, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈzɛt͡sn̩]. besetzten is at rank #7,157, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈzɛt͡stn̩].
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 14886, this pair ranks #1,947,999 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of besetzen vs besetzten
Shared letters: benstz. Private to "besetzen": -. Private to "besetzten": -.
"besetzen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "besetzten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "besetzen" and "besetzten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "besetzen" or "besetzten" show up more?
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 "besetzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "besetzten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,947,999 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "besetzen" and "besetzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "besetzen vs Bestien". 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 #1,947,999 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.