Which to use
“befehlen” and “bekehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,525
- “befehlen” frequency rank
- #31,459
- “bekehren” frequency rank
- 48984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befehlen | bekehren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | einen bindenden Auftrag erteilen, etwas Bestimmtes genau befolgend auszuführen | jemanden von seinen bisherigen Ansichten abbringen und von den eigenen überzeugen |
Where the eye mixes befehlen and bekehren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. befehlen and bekehren follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses befehlen with bekehren
A purely visual mix-up. befehlen ([bəˈfeːlən]) and bekehren ([bəˈkeːʁən]) 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 48984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befehlen is recorded at frequency rank #17,525, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfeːlən]. bekehren is at rank #31,459, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈkeːʁən].
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 48984, this pair ranks #1,228,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of befehlen vs bekehren
Shared letters: behn. Private to "befehlen": fl. Private to "bekehren": kr.
"befehlen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "bekehren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "befehlen" and "bekehren" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "befehlen" vs "bekehren" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "befehlen" and "bekehren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "befehlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bekehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,228,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befehlen" and "bekehren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bekehren vs Bekehrung". 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 #1,228,284 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.