Which to use
“befragen” is a verb and “befragte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,465
- “befragen” frequency rank
- #23,435
- “befragte” frequency rank
- 35900
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befragen | befragte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | um mehrere Auskünfte bitten; Fragen an jemanden stellen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs befragt |
Where the eye mixes befragen and befragte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses befragen with befragte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: befragen is [bəˈfʁaːɡn̩] while befragte is [bəˈfʁaːktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35900, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befragen is recorded at frequency rank #12,465, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfʁaːɡn̩]. befragte is at rank #23,435, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfʁaːktə].
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 35900, this pair ranks #1,628,807 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of befragen vs befragte
Shared letters: abefgr. Private to "befragen": n. Private to "befragte": t.
"befragen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "befragte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "befragen" and "befragte" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "befragen" vs "befragte" - which ranks higher?
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 "befragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "befragte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,628,807 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befragen" and "befragte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befragte vs betrage". 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 #1,628,807 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.