bezeichnenvsBezeichnungWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,807
“bezeichnen” frequency rank
#2,808
“Bezeichnung” frequency rank
5615
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bezeichnen Bezeichnung
Definition jemandem oder etwas einen Namen geben, jemanden benennen Code aus Zeichen und Symbolen, der auf einen Gegenstand oder Begriff verweist

Where the eye mixes bezeichnen and Bezeichnung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. bezeichnen runs 10 letters (CVCVVCCCVC) against Bezeichnung's 11 (CVCVVCCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
bezeichnen
11 ch
Bezeichnung

Why the eye confuses bezeichnen with Bezeichnung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bezeichnen is [bəˈt͡saɪ̯çnən] while Bezeichnung is [bəˈt͡saɪ̯çnʊŋ]. 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 5615, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bezeichnen is recorded at frequency rank #2,807, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈt͡saɪ̯çnən]. Bezeichnung is at rank #2,808, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈt͡saɪ̯çnʊŋ].

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 5615, this pair ranks #1,994,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bezeichnen vs Bezeichnung

Shared letters: bcehinz. Private to "bezeichnen": -. Private to "Bezeichnung": gu.

"bezeichnen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCCVC  ·  "Bezeichnung" · 11 letters · shape CVCVVCCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bezeichnen ← bbezeichnen · beezichnen · bezecihnen · bezeicchnen · bezeichenn · bezeichhnen · bezeichnenn · bezeichnne
  • Bezeichnung ← bbezeichnung · beezichnung · bezecihnung · bezeicchnung · bezeichhnung · bezeichnnug · bezeichnnung · bezeichnugn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bezeichnen" and "Bezeichnung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bezeichnen" is a verb and "Bezeichnung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "bezeichnen" or "Bezeichnung" show up more?
"bezeichnen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,807 in our German list, against #2,808 for "Bezeichnung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "bezeichnen" and "Bezeichnung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bezeichnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Bezeichnung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,994,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bezeichnen" and "Bezeichnung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bezeichne vs bezeichnen". 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 #1,994,219 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