Which to use
“bestehe” and “besteht” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,052
- “bestehe” frequency rank
- #529
- “besteht” frequency rank
- 10581
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestehe | besteht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bestehen | 3. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs bestehen |
Where the eye mixes bestehe and besteht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bestehe (CVCCVCV) and besteht (CVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between bestehe and besteht
A purely visual mix-up. bestehe ([bəˈʃteːə]) and besteht ([bəˈʃteːt]) 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 a single letter - e in “bestehe” becomes t in “besteht”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10581, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bestehe is recorded at frequency rank #10,052, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃteːə]. besteht is at rank #529, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃteːt].
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 10581, this pair ranks #1,974,443 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestehe vs besteht
Shared letters: behst. Private to "bestehe": -. Private to "besteht": -.
"bestehe" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "besteht" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bestehe" and "besteht" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "bestehe" or "besteht" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestehe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "besteht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,974,443 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestehe" and "besteht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beseelt vs besteht". 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 #1,974,443 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.