bebtvsbeenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#47,244
“bebt” frequency rank
#14,246
“been” frequency rank
61490
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bebt been
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs beben Past Participle des Verbs be

Where the eye mixes bebt and been

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. bebt (CVCC) and been (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
bebt
4 ch
been

Visual trap between bebt and been

A purely visual mix-up. bebt ([beːpt]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bebt is recorded at frequency rank #47,244, classified as averb, pronounced [beːpt]. 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 61490, this pair ranks #747,821 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bebt vs been

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

"bebt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "been" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bebt ← bbebt · bbet · bebbt · bebtt · betb · ebbt
  • been ← bbeen · beenn · ben

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bebt" and "been" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([beːpt] versus [bɪn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bebt" vs "been" - which ranks higher?
"been" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,246 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.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bebt" 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 #747,821 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bebt" and "been" 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 #747,821 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