Which to use
“befragen” and “betragen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,465
- “befragen” frequency rank
- #6,515
- “betragen” frequency rank
- 18980
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befragen | betragen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | um mehrere Auskünfte bitten; Fragen an jemanden stellen | einen Wert, eine zahlenmäßige Größe, einen Geldbetrag darstellen, ausmachen, umfassen |
Where the eye mixes befragen and betragen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. befragen and betragen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses befragen with betragen
A purely visual mix-up. befragen ([bəˈfʁaːɡn̩]) and betragen ([bəˈtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 a single letter - f in “befragen” becomes t in “betragen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18980, 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]. betragen is at rank #6,515, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁaːɡn̩].
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 18980, this pair ranks #1,912,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of befragen vs betragen
Shared letters: abegnr. Private to "befragen": f. Private to "betragen": t.
"befragen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "betragen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "befragen" and "betragen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "befragen" vs "betragen" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "betragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,912,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befragen" and "betragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befragen vs Betrages". 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 #1,912,981 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.