BesuchvsBesuchsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,101
“Besuch” frequency rank
#21,549
“Besuchs” frequency rank
22650
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Besuch Besuchs
Definition vorübergehendes Aufsuchen des Aufenthaltsorts einer Person, vorübergehendes Aufsuchen eines Gebäudes oder einer Institution auf eigene Initiative Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Besuch

Where the eye mixes Besuch and Besuchs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Besuch runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against Besuchs's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Besuch
7 ch
Besuchs

Why the eye confuses Besuch with Besuchs

A purely visual mix-up. Besuch ([bəˈzuːx]) and Besuchs ([bəˈzuːxs]) 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) - “Besuch” sits inside “Besuchs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22650, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Besuch is recorded at frequency rank #1,101, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈzuːx]. Besuchs is at rank #21,549, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈzuːxs].

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 22650, this pair ranks #1,871,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Besuch vs Besuchs

Shared letters: bcehsu. Private to "Besuch": -. Private to "Besuchs": -.

"Besuch" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Besuchs" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Besuchbbesuch · bescuh · bessuch · besucch · besuchh · besuhc · beusch · bseuch
  • Besuchsbbesuchs · bescuhs · bessuchs · besucchs · besuchhs · besuchss · besucsh · besuhcs

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Besuch" for "Besuchs" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈzuːx] versus [bəˈzuːxs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Besuch" vs "Besuchs" - which ranks higher?
"Besuch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,101 in our German list, against #21,549 for "Besuchs". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "Besuch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Besuchs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,871,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Besuch" and "Besuchs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Besuchs vs besuchst". 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 #1,871,490 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