Which to use
“besichtigen” is a verb and “Besichtigung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,106
- “besichtigen” frequency rank
- #12,467
- “Besichtigung” frequency rank
- 25573
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | besichtigen | Besichtigung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an einen bestimmten Ort gehen und etwas (genau) ansehen, um es kennenzulernen | Ereignis, bei dem jemand etwas genau betrachtet, wobei das Betrachtete meist zur Betrachtung freigegeben wurde oder frei zugänglich ist |
Where the eye mixes besichtigen and Besichtigung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. besichtigen runs 11 letters (CVCVCCCVCVC) against Besichtigung's 12 (CVCVCCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: besichtigen vs Besichtigung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: besichtigen is [bəˈzɪçtɪɡn̩] while Besichtigung is [bəˈzɪçtɪɡʊŋ]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25573, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
besichtigen is recorded at frequency rank #13,106, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈzɪçtɪɡn̩]. Besichtigung is at rank #12,467, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈzɪçtɪɡʊŋ].
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 25573, this pair ranks #1,831,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of besichtigen vs Besichtigung
Shared letters: bceghinst. Private to "besichtigen": -. Private to "Besichtigung": u.
"besichtigen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVC · "Besichtigung" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCCCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- besichtigen ← bbesichtigen · beischtigen · bescihtigen · besicchtigen · besichhtigen · besichitgen · besichtgien · besichtiegn
- Besichtigung ← bbesichtigung · beischtigung · bescihtigung · besicchtigung · besichhtigung · besichitgung · besichtgiung · besichtiggung
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "besichtigen" and "Besichtigung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "besichtigen" or "Besichtigung"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "besichtigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Besichtigung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,831,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "besichtigen" and "Besichtigung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "berechtigen vs besichtigen". 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 #1,831,224 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.