Which to use
“befassten” is an adjective and “belasten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,463
- “befassten” frequency rank
- #9,155
- “belasten” frequency rank
- 42618
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befassten | belasten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs befasst | bewirken, dass etwas eine störende oder schädliche Wirkung auf etwas hat |
Where the eye mixes befassten and belasten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses befassten with belasten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: befassten is [bəˈfastn̩] while belasten is [bəˈlastn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42618, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befassten is recorded at frequency rank #33,463, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfastn̩]. 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 42618, this pair ranks #1,443,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of befassten vs belasten
Shared letters: abenst. Private to "befassten": f. Private to "belasten": l.
"befassten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC · "belasten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "befassten" and "belasten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "befassten" vs "belasten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "befassten" and "belasten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "befassten" 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 #1,443,789 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befassten" and "belasten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befassten vs bewussten". 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 #1,443,789 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.