Which to use
“beben” and “been” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,524
- “beben” frequency rank
- #14,246
- “been” frequency rank
- 31770
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beben | been |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | stark erzittern | Past Participle des Verbs be |
Where the eye mixes beben and been
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses beben with been
A purely visual mix-up. beben ([ˈbeːbn̩]) and been ([bɪn]) 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 31770, 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]. been is at rank #14,246, tagged as averb, pronounced [bɪn].
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 31770, this pair ranks #1,721,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beben vs been
Shared letters: ben. Private to "beben": -. Private to "been": -.
"beben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "been" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "beben" for "been" ever safe?
Which is more common, "beben" or "been"?
Useful next steps
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 "been" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,721,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beben" and "been" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beben vs Bibeln". 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 #1,721,427 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.