Which to use
“bestimmte” and “bestimmtes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,502
- “bestimmte” frequency rank
- #8,180
- “bestimmtes” frequency rank
- 9682
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestimmte | bestimmtes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs bestimmt | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs bestimmt |
Where the eye mixes bestimmte and bestimmtes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. bestimmte runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCCV) against bestimmtes's 10 (CVCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bestimmte with bestimmtes
A purely visual mix-up. bestimmte ([bəˈʃtɪmtə]) and bestimmtes ([bəˈʃtɪmtəs]) 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) - “bestimmte” sits inside “bestimmtes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bestimmte is recorded at frequency rank #1,502, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmtə]. 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 9682, this pair ranks #1,978,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestimmte vs bestimmtes
Shared letters: beimst. Private to "bestimmte": -. Private to "bestimmtes": -.
"bestimmte" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV · "bestimmtes" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bestimmte ← bbestimmte · besitmmte · besstimmte · bestimmet · bestimmtte · bestimte · bestimtme · bestmimte
- bestimmtes ← bbestimmtes · besitmmtes · besstimmtes · bestimmets · bestimmtess · bestimmtse · bestimmttes · bestimtes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bestimmte" for "bestimmtes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bestimmte" vs "bestimmtes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "bestimmte" and "bestimmtes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestimmte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestimmtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,978,804 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestimmte" and "bestimmtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bestimme vs bestimmtes". 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 #1,978,804 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.