Which to use
“befiehlt” and “behielt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,058
- “befiehlt” frequency rank
- #11,183
- “behielt” frequency rank
- 36241
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befiehlt | behielt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs befehlen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs behalten |
Where the eye mixes befiehlt and behielt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses befiehlt with behielt
A purely visual mix-up. befiehlt ([bəˈfiːlt]) and behielt ([bəˈhiːlt]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36241, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befiehlt is recorded at frequency rank #25,058, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfiːlt]. behielt is at rank #11,183, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈhiːlt].
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 36241, this pair ranks #1,620,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of befiehlt vs behielt
Shared letters: behilt. Private to "befiehlt": f. Private to "behielt": -.
"befiehlt" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCC · "behielt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "befiehlt" and "behielt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "befiehlt" or "behielt"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "befiehlt" and "behielt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "befiehlt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "behielt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,620,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befiehlt" and "behielt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "behielt vs beseelt". 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 #1,620,539 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.