bevölkern vs Bevölkerung, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“bevölkern” is a verb and “Bevölkerung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,264
“bevölkern” frequency rank: #851
“Bevölkerung” frequency rank: 48115
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	bevölkern	Bevölkerung
Definition	ein Land oder einen Ort mit etwas besiedeln	Gesamtheit aller Bewohner eines Gebietes

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bevölkern and Bevölkerung apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

bevölkern

11 ch

Bevölkerung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bevölkern is [bəˈfœlkɐn] while Bevölkerung is [bəˈfœlkəʁʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bevölkern is recorded at frequency rank #47,264, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfœlkɐn]. Bevölkerung is at rank #851, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈfœlkəʁʊŋ].

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 48115, this pair ranks #1,260,292 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bevölkern vs Bevölkerung

Shared letters: beklnrvö. Private to "bevölkern": -. Private to "Bevölkerung": gu.

"bevölkern" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC · "Bevölkerung" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

bevölkern#47,264

Bevölkerung#851

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bevölkern" and "Bevölkerung" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bevölkern" is a verb and "Bevölkerung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "bevölkern" or "Bevölkerung"?

"Bevölkerung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #851 in our German list, against #47,264 for "bevölkern". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering bevölkern vs Bevölkerung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “bevölkern”; for a noun, it's “Bevölkerung”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bevölkern” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable