bewältigenvsbewältigtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#8,182
“bewältigen” frequency rank
#20,531
“bewältigt” frequency rank
28713
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bewältigen bewältigt
Definition eine mühsame Arbeit hinter sich bringen, damit fertig werden Partizip Perfekt des Verbs bewältigen

Where the eye mixes bewältigen and bewältigt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bewältigen runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCVC) against bewältigt's 9 (CVCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
bewältigen
9 ch
bewältigt

Why the eye confuses bewältigen with bewältigt

A purely visual mix-up. bewältigen ([bəˈvɛltɪɡn̩]) and bewältigt ([bəˈvɛltɪçt]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bewältigen is recorded at frequency rank #8,182, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈvɛltɪɡn̩]. bewältigt is at rank #20,531, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈvɛltɪçt].

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 28713, this pair ranks #1,779,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bewältigen vs bewältigt

Shared letters: begiltwä. Private to "bewältigen": n. Private to "bewältigt": -.

"bewältigen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC  ·  "bewältigt" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bewältigen" for "bewältigt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈvɛltɪɡn̩] versus [bəˈvɛltɪçt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bewältigen" or "bewältigt"?
"bewältigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,182 in our German list, against #20,531 for "bewältigt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bewältigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bewältigt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,779,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bewältigen" and "bewältigt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "betätigt vs bewältigt". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,779,892 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