bewegenvsBewegungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bewegen is a verb, Bewegung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#1,960
“bewegen” frequency rank
#1,069
“Bewegung” frequency rank
3029
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bewegen Bewegung
Definition die Lage oder Stellung von etwas im Raum verändern; etwas von einem Ort zum anderen schaffen Zustand jenseits der Ruhe

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bewegen and Bewegung apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
bewegen
8 ch
Bewegung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bewegen is [bəˈveːɡn̩] while Bewegung is [bəˈveːɡʊŋ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 3029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bewegen is recorded at frequency rank #1,960, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈveːɡn̩]. Bewegung is at rank #1,069, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈveːɡʊŋ].

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 3029, this pair ranks #2,001,107 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bewegen vs Bewegung

Shared letters: begnw. Private to "bewegen": -. Private to "Bewegung": u.

"bewegen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "Bewegung" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bewegenbbewegen · beewgen · beweegn · bewegenn · beweggen · bewegne · bewgeen · bewwegen
  • Bewegungbbewegung · beewgung · beweggung · bewegnug · bewegugn · bewegungg · bewegunng · beweugng

Frequency comparison

bewegen#1,960
Bewegung#1,069

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bewegen" and "Bewegung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bewegen" is a verb and "Bewegung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bewegen" or "Bewegung"?
"Bewegung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,069 in our German list, against #1,960 for "bewegen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bewegen vs Bewegung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list