Which to use
“befallen” is an adjective and “behalten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,489
- “befallen” frequency rank
- #2,017
- “behalten” frequency rank
- 20506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befallen | behalten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von etwas betroffen | im Besitz einer Sache bleiben |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set befallen and behalten apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
befallen and behalten form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20506, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befallen is recorded at frequency rank #18,489, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfalən]. behalten is at rank #2,017, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈhaltn̩].
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 20506, this pair ranks #1,896,905 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "befallen" and "behalten" be used interchangeably?
Remembering befallen vs behalten
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “befallen”; for a verb, it's “behalten”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “befallen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable