Which to use
“bestimme” is a verb and “bestimmt” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,472
- “bestimme” frequency rank
- #485
- “bestimmt” frequency rank
- 25957
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestimme | bestimmt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bestimmen | vorher definiert, für den Informierten klar umrissen |
Where the eye mixes bestimme and bestimmt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. bestimme (CVCCVCCV) and bestimmt (CVCCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses bestimme with bestimmt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bestimme is [bəˈʃtɪmə] while bestimmt is [bəˈʃtɪmt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “bestimme” becomes t in “bestimmt”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25957, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bestimme is recorded at frequency rank #25,472, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmə]. bestimmt is at rank #485, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmt].
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 25957, this pair ranks #1,825,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestimme vs bestimmt
Shared letters: beimst. Private to "bestimme": -. Private to "bestimmt": -.
"bestimme" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "bestimmt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bestimme" for "bestimmt" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bestimme" vs "bestimmt" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestimme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestimmt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,825,431 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestimme" and "bestimmt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bestie vs bestimme". 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 #1,825,431 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.