Which to use
“bestand” and “bestände” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,958
- “bestand” frequency rank
- #11,613
- “bestände” frequency rank
- 13571
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestand | bestände |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs bestehen | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bestehen |
Where the eye mixes bestand and bestände
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bestand runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against bestände's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bestand vs bestände
A purely visual mix-up. bestand ([bəˈʃtant]) and bestände ([bəˈʃtɛndə]) 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 13571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bestand is recorded at frequency rank #1,958, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtant]. bestände is at rank #11,613, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛndə].
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 13571, this pair ranks #1,957,130 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestand vs bestände
Shared letters: bdenst. Private to "bestand": a. Private to "bestände": ä.
"bestand" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "bestände" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- bestand ← bbestand · besatnd · besstand · bestadn · bestandd · bestannd · bestnad · besttand
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bestand" and "bestände" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "bestand" or "bestände"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestand" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestände" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,957,130 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestand" and "bestände" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bestände vs Bestandes". 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 #1,957,130 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.