bestimmtvsbestimmteTell them apart

Which to use

“bestimmt” and “bestimmte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#485
“bestimmt” frequency rank
#1,502
“bestimmte” frequency rank
1987
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bestimmt bestimmte
Definition vorher definiert, für den Informierten klar umrissen Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs bestimmt

Where the eye mixes bestimmt and bestimmte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bestimmt runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCC) against bestimmte's 9 (CVCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
bestimmt
9 ch
bestimmte

Look-alike desk: bestimmt vs bestimmte

A purely visual mix-up. bestimmt ([bəˈʃtɪmt]) and bestimmte ([bəˈʃtɪmtə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “bestimmt” sits inside “bestimmte”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bestimmt is recorded at frequency rank #485, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmt]. bestimmte is at rank #1,502, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmtə].

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 1987, this pair ranks #2,003,322 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bestimmt vs bestimmte

Shared letters: beimst. Private to "bestimmt": -. Private to "bestimmte": -.

"bestimmt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC  ·  "bestimmte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bestimmt ← bbestimmt · besitmmt · besstimmt · bestimmtt · bestimt · bestimtm · bestmimt · besttimmt
  • bestimmte ← bbestimmte · besitmmte · besstimmte · bestimmet · bestimmtte · bestimte · bestimtme · bestmimte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bestimmt" and "bestimmte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃtɪmt] versus [bəˈʃtɪmtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bestimmt" vs "bestimmte" - which ranks higher?
"bestimmt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #485 in our German list, against #1,502 for "bestimmte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bestimmt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bestimmte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,003,322 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bestimmt" and "bestimmte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "besticht vs bestimmt". 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 #2,003,322 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list