Which to use
“befolgen” and “befüllen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,749
- “befolgen” frequency rank
- #42,369
- “befüllen” frequency rank
- 57118
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befolgen | befüllen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (einen Befehl) ausführen | einen Behälter voll machen |
Where the eye mixes befolgen and befüllen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. befolgen and befüllen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: befolgen vs befüllen
A purely visual mix-up. befolgen ([bəˈfɔlɡn̩]) and befüllen ([bəˈfʏlən]) 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 57118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befolgen is recorded at frequency rank #14,749, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfɔlɡn̩]. befüllen is at rank #42,369, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈfʏlən].
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 57118, this pair ranks #913,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of befolgen vs befüllen
Shared letters: befln. Private to "befolgen": go. Private to "befüllen": ü.
"befolgen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "befüllen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- befolgen ← bbefolgen · beffolgen · beflogen · befoglen · befolegn · befolgenn · befolggen · befolgne
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "befolgen" and "befüllen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "befolgen" or "befüllen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "befolgen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "befüllen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #913,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befolgen" and "befüllen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befüllen vs beulen". 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 #913,757 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.