bebenvsbebtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#17,524
“beben” frequency rank
#47,244
“bebt” frequency rank
64768
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beben bebt
Definition stark erzittern 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs beben

Where the eye mixes beben and bebt

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

5 ch
beben
4 ch
bebt

Look-alike desk: beben vs bebt

A purely visual mix-up. beben ([ˈbeːbn̩]) and bebt ([beːpt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64768, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beben is recorded at frequency rank #17,524, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbeːbn̩]. bebt is at rank #47,244, tagged as averb, pronounced [beːpt].

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 64768, this pair ranks #630,010 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of beben vs bebt

Shared letters: be. Private to "beben": n. Private to "bebt": t.

"beben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "bebt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bebenbbeben · bebben · bebenn · bebne · beebn
  • bebtbbebt · bbet · bebbt · bebtt · betb · ebbt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "beben" for "bebt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbeːbn̩] versus [beːpt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "beben" vs "bebt" - which ranks higher?
"beben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,524 in our German list, against #47,244 for "bebt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "beben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bebt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #630,010 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beben" and "bebt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bebt vs Bubi". 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 #630,010 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