Which to use
“besten” is an adjective and “bestens” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #375
- “besten” frequency rank
- #4,104
- “bestens” frequency rank
- 4479
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | besten | bestens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Superlativs des Adjektivs gut | auf das Beste, sehr gut, ausgezeichnet, hervorragend |
Where the eye mixes besten and bestens
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between besten and bestens
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: besten is [ˈbɛstn̩] while bestens is [ˈbɛstn̩s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “besten” sits inside “bestens”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
besten is recorded at frequency rank #375, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈbɛstn̩]. bestens is at rank #4,104, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈbɛstn̩s].
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 4479, this pair ranks #1,997,609 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of besten vs bestens
Shared letters: benst. Private to "besten": -. Private to "bestens": -.
"besten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "bestens" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "besten" and "bestens" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "besten" or "bestens"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "besten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,997,609 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "besten" and "bestens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bestens 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 #1,997,609 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.