beatvsbehältWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“beat” and “behält” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,153
“beat” frequency rank
#8,031
“behält” frequency rank
17184
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beat behält
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs beaten 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs behalten

Where the eye mixes beat and behält

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
beat
6 ch
behält

Look-alike desk: beat vs behält

A purely visual mix-up. beat ([biːt]) and behält ([bəˈhɛlt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beat is recorded at frequency rank #9,153, classified as averb, pronounced [biːt]. behält is at rank #8,031, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈhɛlt].

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 17184, this pair ranks #1,929,642 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beat vs behält

Shared letters: bet. Private to "beat": a. Private to "behält": hlä.

"beat" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "behält" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beatbaet · bbeat · beatt · ebat

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beat" and "behält" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([biːt] versus [bəˈhɛlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "beat" or "behält"?
"behält" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,031 in our German list, against #9,153 for "beat". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "beat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "behält" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,929,642 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beat" and "behält" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beat vs breath". 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 #1,929,642 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