bestimmen vs bestimmtes, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“bestimmen” is a verb and “bestimmtes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,360
“bestimmen” frequency rank: #8,180
“bestimmtes” frequency rank: 11540
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	bestimmen	bestimmtes
Definition	festlegen, zum Beispiel einen Preis, eine Zeitdauer, einen Umfang	Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs bestimmt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bestimmen and bestimmtes apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

bestimmen

10 ch

bestimmtes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

bestimmen and bestimmtes form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bestimmen is recorded at frequency rank #3,360, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmən]. bestimmtes is at rank #8,180, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmtəs].

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 11540, this pair ranks #1,969,355 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

bestimmen#3,360

bestimmtes#8,180

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bestimmen" and "bestimmtes" be used interchangeably?

No, "bestimmen" and "bestimmtes" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering bestimmen vs bestimmtes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “bestimmen”; for an adjective, it's “bestimmtes”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bestimmen” entry
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