bestimmtenvsbestimmterWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,503
“bestimmten” frequency rank
#7,580
“bestimmter” frequency rank
9083
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bestimmten bestimmter
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs bestimmt Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bestimmt

Where the eye mixes bestimmten and bestimmter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. bestimmten and bestimmter follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
bestimmten
10 ch
bestimmter

Visual trap between bestimmten and bestimmter

A purely visual mix-up. bestimmten ([bəˈʃtɪmtn̩]) and bestimmter ([bəˈʃtɪmtɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “bestimmten” becomes r in “bestimmter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9083, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bestimmten is recorded at frequency rank #1,503, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmtn̩]. bestimmter is at rank #7,580, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʃtɪmtɐ].

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 9083, this pair ranks #1,981,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bestimmten vs bestimmter

Shared letters: beimst. Private to "bestimmten": n. Private to "bestimmter": r.

"bestimmten" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC  ·  "bestimmter" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bestimmtenbbestimmten · besitmmten · besstimmten · bestimmetn · bestimmtenn · bestimmtne · bestimmtten · bestimten
  • bestimmterbbestimmter · besitmmter · besstimmter · bestimmetr · bestimmterr · bestimmtre · bestimmtter · bestimter

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bestimmten" and "bestimmter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃtɪmtn̩] versus [bəˈʃtɪmtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bestimmten" vs "bestimmter" - which ranks higher?
"bestimmten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,503 in our German list, against #7,580 for "bestimmter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bestimmten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bestimmter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,981,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bestimmten" and "bestimmter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bestimme vs bestimmter". 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 #1,981,534 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