Which to use
“betroffen” and “betroffene” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,584
- “betroffen” frequency rank
- #5,251
- “betroffene” frequency rank
- 7835
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | betroffen | betroffene |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unangenehm überrascht, (emotional) leidtragend, bestürzt | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs betroffen |
Where the eye mixes betroffen and betroffene
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. betroffen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against betroffene's 10 (CVCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between betroffen and betroffene
A purely visual mix-up. betroffen ([bəˈtʁɔfn̩]) and betroffene ([bəˈtʁɔfənə]) 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) - “betroffen” sits inside “betroffene”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7835, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
betroffen is recorded at frequency rank #2,584, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈtʁɔfn̩]. betroffene is at rank #5,251, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈtʁɔfənə].
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 7835, this pair ranks #1,986,700 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of betroffen vs betroffene
Shared letters: befnort. Private to "betroffen": -. Private to "betroffene": -.
"betroffen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "betroffene" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- betroffen ← bbetroffen · bertoffen · betorffen · betrfofen · betrofefn · betrofen · betroffenn · betroffne
- betroffene ← bbetroffene · bertoffene · betorffene · betrfofene · betrofefne · betrofene · betroffeen · betroffnee
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "betroffen" for "betroffene" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "betroffen" or "betroffene" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "betroffen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "betroffene" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,986,700 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "betroffen" and "betroffene" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "besoffene vs betroffene". 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 #1,986,700 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.