bestimmtvsbestimmtenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#485
“bestimmt” frequency rank
#1,503
“bestimmten” frequency rank
1988
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bestimmt bestimmten
Definition vorher definiert, für den Informierten klar umrissen Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs bestimmt

Where the eye mixes bestimmt and bestimmten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bestimmt runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCC) against bestimmten's 10 (CVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
bestimmt
10 ch
bestimmten

Visual trap between bestimmt and bestimmten

A purely visual mix-up. bestimmt ([bəˈʃtɪmt]) and bestimmten ([bəˈʃtɪmtn̩]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “bestimmt” sits inside “bestimmten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1988, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bestimmt is recorded at frequency rank #485, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmt]. bestimmten is at rank #1,503, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmtn̩].

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 1988, this pair ranks #2,003,318 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bestimmt vs bestimmten

Shared letters: beimst. Private to "bestimmt": -. Private to "bestimmten": n.

"bestimmt" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC  ·  "bestimmten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bestimmtbbestimmt · besitmmt · besstimmt · bestimmtt · bestimt · bestimtm · bestmimt · besttimmt
  • bestimmtenbbestimmten · besitmmten · besstimmten · bestimmetn · bestimmtenn · bestimmtne · bestimmtten · bestimten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bestimmt" and "bestimmten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃtɪmt] versus [bəˈʃtɪmtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bestimmt" vs "bestimmten" - which ranks higher?
"bestimmt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #485 in our German list, against #1,503 for "bestimmten". 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 "bestimmten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,003,318 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bestimmt" and "bestimmten" 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 #2,003,318 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