befeuernvsbefeuertWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“befeuern” and “befeuert” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#44,473
“befeuern” frequency rank
#30,941
“befeuert” frequency rank
75414
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befeuern befeuert
Definition etwas mit Brennstoff versorgen, beheizen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs befeuern

Where the eye mixes befeuern and befeuert

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. befeuern and befeuert follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
befeuern
8 ch
befeuert

Look-alike desk: befeuern vs befeuert

A purely visual mix-up. befeuern ([bəˈfɔɪ̯ɐn]) and befeuert ([bəˈfɔɪ̯ɐt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - n in “befeuern” becomes t in “befeuert”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75414, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

befeuern is recorded at frequency rank #44,473, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfɔɪ̯ɐn]. befeuert is at rank #30,941, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈfɔɪ̯ɐt].

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 75414, this pair ranks #308,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of befeuern vs befeuert

Shared letters: befru. Private to "befeuern": n. Private to "befeuert": t.

"befeuern" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVVCC  ·  "befeuert" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • befeuernbbefeuern · beefuern · befeeurn · befeuenr · befeuernn · befeuerrn · befeuren · beffeuern
  • befeuertbbefeuert · beefuert · befeeurt · befeuerrt · befeuertt · befeuetr · befeuret · beffeuert

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "befeuern" and "befeuert" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈfɔɪ̯ɐn] versus [bəˈfɔɪ̯ɐt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "befeuern" or "befeuert"?
"befeuert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,941 in our German list, against #44,473 for "befeuern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "befeuern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "befeuert" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #308,547 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "befeuern" and "befeuert" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befeuern vs besteuern". 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 #308,547 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list