Which to use
“bestechen” is a verb and “Bestechung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,471
- “bestechen” frequency rank
- #20,861
- “Bestechung” frequency rank
- 46332
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestechen | Bestechung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Gabe an eine Amtsperson überlassen, um diese zur Verletzung ihrer Amtspflicht zu bewegen | Vorteilsgewährung an Amtsträger mit zu erwartender Gegenleistung |
Where the eye mixes bestechen and Bestechung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bestechen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against Bestechung's 10 (CVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bestechen vs Bestechung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bestechen is [bəˈʃtɛçn̩] while Bestechung is [bəˈʃtɛçʊŋ]. 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 46332, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bestechen is recorded at frequency rank #25,471, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛçn̩]. Bestechung is at rank #20,861, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛçʊŋ].
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 46332, this pair ranks #1,322,710 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bestechen vs Bestechung
Shared letters: bcehnst. Private to "bestechen": -. Private to "Bestechung": gu.
"bestechen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "Bestechung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bestechen ← bbestechen · besetchen · besstechen · bestcehen · bestecchen · bestecehn · bestechenn · bestechhen
- Bestechung ← bbestechung · besetchung · besstechung · bestcehung · bestecchung · bestechhung · bestechnug · bestechugn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bestechen" and "Bestechung" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bestechen" or "Bestechung"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "bestechen" and "Bestechung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Bestechung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,322,710 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestechen" and "Bestechung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bestechen vs bestochen". 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 #1,322,710 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.