Which to use
“bestimmen” is a verb and “Bestimmung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,360
- “bestimmen” frequency rank
- #5,250
- “Bestimmung” frequency rank
- 8610
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestimmen | Bestimmung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | festlegen, zum Beispiel einen Preis, eine Zeitdauer, einen Umfang | der Vorgang des Bestimmens |
Where the eye mixes bestimmen and Bestimmung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bestimmen with Bestimmung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bestimmen is [bəˈʃtɪmən] while Bestimmung is [bəˈʃtɪmʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8610, 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]. Bestimmung is at rank #5,250, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmʊŋ].
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 8610, this pair ranks #1,983,632 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestimmen vs Bestimmung
Shared letters: beimnst. Private to "bestimmen": -. Private to "Bestimmung": gu.
"bestimmen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "Bestimmung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bestimmen ← bbestimmen · besitmmen · besstimmen · bestimemn · bestimen · bestimmenn · bestimmne · bestmimen
- Bestimmung ← bbestimmung · besitmmung · besstimmung · bestimmnug · bestimmugn · bestimmungg · bestimmunng · bestimumng
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bestimmen" and "Bestimmung" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "bestimmen" vs "Bestimmung" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "bestimmen" and "Bestimmung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestimmen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Bestimmung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,983,632 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestimmen" and "Bestimmung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bestien vs bestimmen". 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 #1,983,632 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.