Which to use
“befahren” and “befahrenen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,748
- “befahren” frequency rank
- #40,421
- “befahrenen” frequency rank
- 55169
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befahren | befahrenen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit Fahrzeugen benutzt | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs befahren |
Where the eye mixes befahren and befahrenen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. befahren runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against befahrenen's 10 (CVCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses befahren with befahrenen
A purely visual mix-up. befahren ([bəˈfaːʁən]) and befahrenen ([bəˈfaːʁənən]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “befahren” sits inside “befahrenen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55169, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befahren is recorded at frequency rank #14,748, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfaːʁən]. befahrenen is at rank #40,421, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfaːʁənən].
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 55169, this pair ranks #990,066 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of befahren vs befahrenen
Shared letters: abefhnr. Private to "befahren": -. Private to "befahrenen": -.
"befahren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "befahrenen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- befahren ← bbefahren · beafhren · befahern · befahhren · befahrenn · befahrne · befahrren · befarhen
- befahrenen ← bbefahrenen · beafhrenen · befahernen · befahhrenen · befahreenn · befahrenenn · befahrenne · befahrennen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "befahren" for "befahrenen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "befahren" vs "befahrenen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "befahren" and "befahrenen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "befahren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "befahrenen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #990,066 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befahren" and "befahrenen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befahren vs bejahen". 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 #990,066 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.