Which to use
“bangen” is a verb and “befangen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,433
- “bangen” frequency rank
- #42,367
- “befangen” frequency rank
- 65800
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bangen | befangen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Angst und/oder Sorge um jemanden oder etwas empfinden | nicht mehr neutral, sondern jemandem verpflichtet |
Where the eye mixes bangen and befangen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bangen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against befangen's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bangen vs befangen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bangen is [ˈbaŋən] while befangen is [bəˈfaŋən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 65800, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bangen is recorded at frequency rank #23,433, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbaŋən]. befangen is at rank #42,367, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfaŋən].
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 65800, this pair ranks #594,567 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bangen vs befangen
Shared letters: abegn. Private to "bangen": -. Private to "befangen": f.
"bangen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "befangen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bangen" and "befangen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "bangen" or "befangen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bangen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "befangen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #594,567 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bangen" and "befangen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befangen vs begangene". 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 #594,567 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.