Which to use
“bestehen” and “bestehend” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,221
- “bestehen” frequency rank
- #6,397
- “bestehend” frequency rank
- 7618
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestehen | bestehend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | erfolgreich absolvieren | Partizip Präsens des Verbs bestehen |
Where the eye mixes bestehen and bestehend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bestehen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against bestehend's 9 (CVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bestehen vs bestehend
A purely visual mix-up. bestehen ([bəˈʃteːən]) and bestehend ([bəˈʃteːənt]) 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 extra letter(s) - “bestehen” sits inside “bestehend”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7618, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bestehen is recorded at frequency rank #1,221, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃteːən]. bestehend is at rank #6,397, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃteːənt].
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 7618, this pair ranks #1,987,519 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestehen vs bestehend
Shared letters: behnst. Private to "bestehen": -. Private to "bestehend": d.
"bestehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "bestehend" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bestehen" and "bestehend" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "bestehen" vs "bestehend" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "bestehen" and "bestehend" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestehend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,987,519 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestehen" and "bestehend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bestehen 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 #1,987,519 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.