Which to use
“besiegen” and “bestiegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,434
- “besiegen” frequency rank
- #30,475
- “bestiegen” frequency rank
- 40909
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | besiegen | bestiegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Sieg über jemanden erringen | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs besteigen |
Where the eye mixes besiegen and bestiegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. besiegen runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against bestiegen's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between besiegen and bestiegen
A purely visual mix-up. besiegen ([bəˈziːɡn̩]) and bestiegen ([bəˈʃtiːɡn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40909, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
besiegen is recorded at frequency rank #10,434, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈziːɡn̩]. bestiegen is at rank #30,475, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtiːɡn̩].
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 40909, this pair ranks #1,494,833 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of besiegen vs bestiegen
Shared letters: begins. Private to "besiegen": -. Private to "bestiegen": t.
"besiegen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "bestiegen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "besiegen" and "bestiegen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "besiegen" or "bestiegen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "besiegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestiegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,494,833 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "besiegen" and "bestiegen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bestiegen 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 #1,494,833 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.