Which to use
“befähigen” and “beruhigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,474
- “befähigen” frequency rank
- #7,878
- “beruhigen” frequency rank
- 52352
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befähigen | beruhigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemanden in die Lage versetzen, etwas zu tun | zur Ruhe bringen; ruhig machen |
Where the eye mixes befähigen and beruhigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. befähigen and beruhigen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between befähigen and beruhigen
A purely visual mix-up. befähigen ([bəˈfɛːɪɡn̩]) and beruhigen ([bəˈʁuːɪɡn̩]) 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 52352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befähigen is recorded at frequency rank #44,474, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfɛːɪɡn̩]. beruhigen is at rank #7,878, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁuːɪɡn̩].
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 52352, this pair ranks #1,100,226 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of befähigen vs beruhigen
Shared letters: beghin. Private to "befähigen": fä. Private to "beruhigen": ru.
"befähigen" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC · "beruhigen" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- beruhigen ← bberuhigen · berhuigen · berruhigen · beruhgien · beruhhigen · beruhiegn · beruhigenn · beruhiggen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "befähigen" and "beruhigen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "befähigen" vs "beruhigen" - which ranks higher?
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 "befähigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "beruhigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,100,226 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befähigen" and "beruhigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befähigen 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 #1,100,226 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.