Which to use
“bestimme” is a verb and “bestimmter” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,472
- “bestimme” frequency rank
- #7,580
- “bestimmter” frequency rank
- 33052
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestimme | bestimmter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bestimmen | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bestimmt |
Where the eye mixes bestimme and bestimmter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bestimme runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against bestimmter's 10 (CVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bestimme vs bestimmter
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bestimme is [bəˈʃtɪmə] while bestimmter is [bəˈʃtɪmtɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 33052, 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]. bestimmter is at rank #7,580, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmtɐ].
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 33052, this pair ranks #1,694,335 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestimme vs bestimmter
Shared letters: beimst. Private to "bestimme": -. Private to "bestimmter": r.
"bestimme" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "bestimmter" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bestimme ← bbestimme · besitmme · besstimme · bestime · bestimem · bestmime · besttimme · betsimme
- bestimmter ← bbestimmter · besitmmter · besstimmter · bestimmetr · bestimmterr · bestimmtre · bestimmtter · bestimter
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bestimme" for "bestimmter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bestimme" vs "bestimmter" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestimme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestimmter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,694,335 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestimme" and "bestimmter" 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 #1,694,335 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.