BesetzungvsBesetzungenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#4,773
“Besetzung” frequency rank
#36,831
“Besetzungen” frequency rank
41604
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Besetzung Besetzungen
Definition die Stationierung von Truppen in einem (fremden) Gebiet unter Behauptung der Herrschaft Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Besetzung

Where the eye mixes Besetzung and Besetzungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Besetzung runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVCC) against Besetzungen's 11 (CVCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
Besetzung
11 ch
Besetzungen

Why the eye confuses Besetzung with Besetzungen

A purely visual mix-up. Besetzung ([bəˈzɛt͡sʊŋ]) and Besetzungen ([bəˈzɛt͡sʊŋən]) 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) - “Besetzung” sits inside “Besetzungen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41604, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Besetzung is recorded at frequency rank #4,773, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈzɛt͡sʊŋ]. Besetzungen is at rank #36,831, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈzɛt͡sʊŋən].

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 41604, this pair ranks #1,474,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Besetzung vs Besetzungen

Shared letters: begnstuz. Private to "Besetzung": -. Private to "Besetzungen": -.

"Besetzung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "Besetzungen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Besetzungbbesetzung · beestzung · besettzung · besetuzng · besetznug · besetzugn · besetzungg · besetzunng
  • Besetzungenbbesetzungen · beestzungen · besettzungen · besetuzngen · besetznugen · besetzugnen · besetzunegn · besetzungenn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Besetzung" for "Besetzungen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈzɛt͡sʊŋ] versus [bəˈzɛt͡sʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Besetzung" vs "Besetzungen" - which ranks higher?
"Besetzung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,773 in our German list, against #36,831 for "Besetzungen". 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 "Besetzung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Besetzungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,474,482 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Besetzung" and "Besetzungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Besatzungen vs Besetzungen". 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 #1,474,482 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