Which to use
“bewohnen” is a verb and “bewohnten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,966
- “bewohnen” frequency rank
- #24,646
- “bewohnten” frequency rank
- 56612
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bewohnen | bewohnten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in einem Gebäude wohnen, etwas als Wohnraum nutzen | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs bewohnt |
Where the eye mixes bewohnen and bewohnten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bewohnen runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against bewohnten's 9 (CVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bewohnen with bewohnten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bewohnen is [bəˈvoːnən] while bewohnten is [bəˈvoːntn̩]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56612, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bewohnen is recorded at frequency rank #31,966, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈvoːnən]. bewohnten is at rank #24,646, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈvoːntn̩].
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 56612, this pair ranks #933,593 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bewohnen vs bewohnten
Shared letters: behnow. Private to "bewohnen": -. Private to "bewohnten": t.
"bewohnen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "bewohnten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bewohnen" and "bewohnten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "bewohnen" or "bewohnten"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bewohnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bewohnten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #933,593 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bewohnen" and "bewohnten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beiwohnen vs bewohnen". 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 #933,593 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.