Which to use
“bedrängen” and “betragen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,747
- “bedrängen” frequency rank
- #6,515
- “betragen” frequency rank
- 50262
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bedrängen | betragen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | drängend bedrücken | einen Wert, eine zahlenmäßige Größe, einen Geldbetrag darstellen, ausmachen, umfassen |
Where the eye mixes bedrängen and betragen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bedrängen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against betragen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses bedrängen with betragen
A purely visual mix-up. bedrängen ([bəˈdʁɛŋən]) and betragen ([bəˈtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 50262, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bedrängen is recorded at frequency rank #43,747, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈdʁɛŋən]. betragen is at rank #6,515, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁaːɡn̩].
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 50262, this pair ranks #1,180,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bedrängen vs betragen
Shared letters: begnr. Private to "bedrängen": dä. Private to "betragen": at.
"bedrängen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "betragen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- betragen ← bbetragen · bertagen · betargen · betraegn · betragenn · betraggen · betragne · betrgaen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bedrängen" for "betragen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "bedrängen" vs "betragen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bedrängen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "betragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,180,380 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bedrängen" and "betragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bedrängen vs befangen". 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 #1,180,380 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.