Which to use
“befördern” is a verb and “Behörden” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,867
- “befördern” frequency rank
- #2,051
- “Behörden” frequency rank
- 14918
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befördern | Behörden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (unter Zuhilfenahme eines Transportmittels) etwas oder jemanden von einem Ort an einen anderen bringen/schaffen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Behörde |
Where the eye mixes befördern and Behörden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. befördern runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVCC) against Behörden's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: befördern vs Behörden
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: befördern is [bəˈfœʁdɐn] while Behörden is [bəˈhøːɐ̯dn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14918, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befördern is recorded at frequency rank #12,867, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfœʁdɐn]. Behörden is at rank #2,051, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈhøːɐ̯dn̩].
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 14918, this pair ranks #1,947,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of befördern vs Behörden
Shared letters: bdenrö. Private to "befördern": f. Private to "Behörden": h.
"befördern" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC · "Behörden" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "befördern" and "Behörden" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "befördern" or "Behörden" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "befördern" and "Behörden" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "befördern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Behörden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,947,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befördern" and "Behörden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befördern vs beordert". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,947,766 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.