Which to use
“bestätigen” and “besteigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,877
- “bestätigen” frequency rank
- #23,050
- “besteigen” frequency rank
- 25927
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestätigen | besteigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Wahrheitsgehalt einer Aussage oder eines Sachverhalts bejahen oder zumindest erhärten | sich zu einem hochgelegenen oder erhöhten Ort begeben |
Where the eye mixes bestätigen and besteigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bestätigen runs 10 letters (CVCCVCVCVC) against besteigen's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bestätigen vs besteigen
A purely visual mix-up. bestätigen ([bəˈʃtɛːtɪɡn̩]) and besteigen ([bəˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩]) 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 25927, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bestätigen is recorded at frequency rank #2,877, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛːtɪɡn̩]. besteigen is at rank #23,050, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtaɪ̯ɡn̩].
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 25927, this pair ranks #1,825,882 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestätigen vs besteigen
Shared letters: beginst. Private to "bestätigen": ä. Private to "besteigen": -.
"bestätigen" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVC · "besteigen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- besteigen ← bbesteigen · besetigen · bessteigen · bestegien · besteiegn · besteigenn · besteiggen · besteigne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bestätigen" for "besteigen" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "bestätigen" or "besteigen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestätigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "besteigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,825,882 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestätigen" and "besteigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "besteigen 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 #1,825,882 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.