befiehltvsbeziehtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,058
“befiehlt” frequency rank
#2,809
“bezieht” frequency rank
27867
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befiehlt bezieht
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs befehlen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs beziehen

Where the eye mixes befiehlt and bezieht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. befiehlt runs 8 letters (CVCVVCCC) against bezieht's 7 (CVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
befiehlt
7 ch
bezieht

Why the eye confuses befiehlt with bezieht

A purely visual mix-up. befiehlt ([bəˈfiːlt]) and bezieht ([bəˈt͡siːt]) 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 27867, 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]. bezieht is at rank #2,809, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈt͡siːt].

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 27867, this pair ranks #1,794,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of befiehlt vs bezieht

Shared letters: behit. Private to "befiehlt": fl. Private to "bezieht": z.

"befiehlt" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCC  ·  "bezieht" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • befiehltbbefiehlt · befeihlt · beffiehlt · befiehhlt · befiehllt · befiehltt · befiehtl · befielht
  • beziehtbbezieht · beizeht · bezeiht · beziehht · beziehtt · bezieth · bezihet · bezzieht

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "befiehlt" for "bezieht" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈfiːlt] versus [bəˈt͡siːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "befiehlt" or "bezieht"?
"bezieht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,809 in our German list, against #25,058 for "befiehlt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "befiehlt" and "bezieht" 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 "bezieht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,794,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "befiehlt" and "bezieht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beriet vs bezieht". 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 #1,794,537 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