bekommen

[bəˈkɔmən]

/[bəˈkɔmən]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“bekommen” is in the everyday core of German, ranked #336 in German word frequency and used as a verb.

#336
frequency rank, German
8
letters
10
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - etwas empfangen, etwas erhalten, etwas erlangen; in seinen Besitz übernehmen

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bekommen vs bekommt
75% similar
bekommen vs bekommst
75% similar
bekommen vs benommen
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bekommen
PropertyValue
Headwordbekommen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[bəˈkɔmən]
Letters8
Frequency rank#336
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bekommen” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). bekommen lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for bekommen is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [bəˈkɔmən]. Corpus data places it at rank #336 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for bekommen, with forms such as "bbekommen", "bekkommen", and "bekmomen". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "bekommt", "bekommst", "benommen", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is bekommen, spelled B-E-K-O-M-M-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    etwas empfangen, etwas erhalten, etwas erlangen; in seinen Besitz übernehmen
  2. 2
    sich einer Person oder Sache bemächtigen; eine bestimmte Person finden oder einen bestimmten Vorteil gewinnen
  3. 3
    in der Zukunft kriegen, in der Zukunft eintreffen
  4. 4
    Speisen, Getränke, körperliche Anwendungen vertragen; gut mit Konsequenzen des Handelns umgehen
  5. 5
    als Hilfsverb zur Passivbildung (bekommen von der Handlung oder dem Geschehnis betroffen sein

This word in other languages

get(English)recibir(Español)recevoir(Français)ter(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbekommen,bekkommen,bekmomen,bekomemn,bekomen,bekommenn,bekommne,beokmmen,bkeommen,ebkommen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of bekommen - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbekommen1bekkommen1bekmomen2bekomemn2bekomen1bekommenn1bekommne2beokmmen2
Edit distance from "bekommen"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bekommen"?
"bekommen" is spelled B-E-K-O-M-M-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [bəˈkɔmən].
What does "bekommen" mean?
As a verb, "bekommen" means: etwas empfangen, etwas erhalten, etwas erlangen; in seinen Besitz übernehmen
What words are commonly confused with "bekommen"?
"bekommen" is commonly confused with "bekommt", "bekommst", "benommen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bekommen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bekommen" is [bəˈkɔmən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "bekommen" come from?
"bekommen" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “bekommen”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is B-E-K-O-M-M-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [bəˈkɔmən] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “bekommt” - see the side-by-side comparison. bekommen vs bekommt
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list