Which to use
“bed” is a noun and “bei” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,645
- “bed” frequency rank
- #29
- “bei” frequency rank
- 22674
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bed | bei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Möbelstück zum Schlafen; Bett | in unmittelbarer Nähe |
Where the eye mixes bed and bei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bed and bei
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bed is [bɛd] while bei is [baɪ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “bed” becomes i in “bei”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22674, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bed is recorded at frequency rank #22,645, classified as anoun, pronounced [bɛd]. bei is at rank #29, tagged as aprep, pronounced [baɪ̯].
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 22674, this pair ranks #1,871,185 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bed vs bei
Shared letters: be. Private to "bed": d. Private to "bei": i.
"bed" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "bei" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bed" for "bei" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bed" vs "bei" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bed" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,871,185 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bed" and "bei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bed vs bic". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,871,185 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.