Which to use
“befall” is a verb and “Befehl” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,953
- “befall” frequency rank
- #3,797
- “Befehl” frequency rank
- 33750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befall | Befehl |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs befallen | verbindliche Anweisung (bei Militär, Polizei und ähnlichen) |
Where the eye mixes befall and Befehl
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses befall with Befehl
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: befall is [bəˈfal] while Befehl is [bəˈfeːl]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befall is recorded at frequency rank #29,953, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfal]. Befehl is at rank #3,797, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈfeːl].
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 33750, this pair ranks #1,678,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of befall vs Befehl
Shared letters: befl. Private to "befall": a. Private to "Befehl": h.
"befall" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "Befehl" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "befall" for "Befehl" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "befall" or "Befehl" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "befall" and "Befehl" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "befall" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Befehl" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,678,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befall" and "Befehl" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befall vs befüllt". 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 #1,678,898 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.