Which to use
“bestehe” is a verb and “bestes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,052
- “bestehe” frequency rank
- #3,299
- “bestes” frequency rank
- 13351
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestehe | bestes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bestehen | Nominativ Singular Neutrum Superlativ der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gut |
Where the eye mixes bestehe and bestes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. bestehe runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against bestes's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between bestehe and bestes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bestehe is [bəˈʃteːə] while bestes is [ˈbɛstəs]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13351, 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]. bestes is at rank #3,299, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈbɛstəs].
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 13351, this pair ranks #1,958,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestehe vs bestes
Shared letters: best. Private to "bestehe": h. Private to "bestes": -.
"bestehe" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "bestes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bestehe" for "bestes" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "bestehe" or "bestes" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestehe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestehe" and "bestes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bestes 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 #1,958,539 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.