Which to use
“befassen” and “belasten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,441
- “befassen” frequency rank
- #9,155
- “belasten” frequency rank
- 16596
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befassen | belasten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich mit etwas stark auseinandersetzen/beschäftigen | bewirken, dass etwas eine störende oder schädliche Wirkung auf etwas hat |
Where the eye mixes befassen and belasten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. befassen and belasten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between befassen and belasten
A purely visual mix-up. befassen ([bəˈfasn̩]) and belasten ([bəˈlastn̩]) 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 16596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befassen is recorded at frequency rank #7,441, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfasn̩]. belasten is at rank #9,155, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈlastn̩].
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 16596, this pair ranks #1,934,532 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of befassen vs belasten
Shared letters: abens. Private to "befassen": f. Private to "belasten": lt.
"befassen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "belasten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "befassen" for "belasten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "befassen" or "belasten"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "befassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "belasten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,934,532 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befassen" and "belasten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bebauten vs belasten". 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 #1,934,532 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.