Which to use
“befahl” and “befand” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,642
- “befahl” frequency rank
- #3,640
- “befand” frequency rank
- 20282
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befahl | befand |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs befehlen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs befinden |
Where the eye mixes befahl and befand
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. befahl and befand follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses befahl with befand
A purely visual mix-up. befahl ([bəˈfaːl]) and befand ([bəˈfant]) 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 20282, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befahl is recorded at frequency rank #16,642, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfaːl]. befand is at rank #3,640, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈfant].
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 20282, this pair ranks #1,899,381 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of befahl vs befand
Shared letters: abef. Private to "befahl": hl. Private to "befand": dn.
"befahl" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "befand" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "befahl" and "befand" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "befahl" vs "befand" - 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 "befahl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "befand" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,899,381 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befahl" and "befand" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befahl vs befuhr". 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 #1,899,381 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.