Which to use
“besetzt” and “besetzten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,876
- “besetzt” frequency rank
- #7,157
- “besetzten” frequency rank
- 10033
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | besetzt | besetzten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch Streitkräfte/eine Armee eingenommen und nicht bereit, das eingenommene Dorf/Land/Gebiet zurückzugeben entsprechend völkerrechtlich (= von der UNO) anerkannter Grenzen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs besetzt |
Where the eye mixes besetzt and besetzten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. besetzt runs 7 letters (CVCVCCC) against besetzten's 9 (CVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses besetzt with besetzten
A purely visual mix-up. besetzt ([bəˈzɛt͡st]) and besetzten ([bəˈzɛt͡stn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “besetzt” sits inside “besetzten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10033, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
besetzt is recorded at frequency rank #2,876, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈzɛt͡st]. 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 10033, this pair ranks #1,977,111 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of besetzt vs besetzten
Shared letters: bestz. Private to "besetzt": -. Private to "besetzten": n.
"besetzt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "besetzten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "besetzt" and "besetzten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "besetzt" or "besetzten"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "besetzt" 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 #1,977,111 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "besetzt" and "besetzten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "besetzten vs besetztes". 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 #1,977,111 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.