befragtvsbefragteConfusable pair

Quick tell: befragt is a verb, befragte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“befragt” is a verb and “befragte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,029
“befragt” frequency rank
#23,435
“befragte” frequency rank
31464
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befragt befragte
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs befragen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs befragt

Where the eye mixes befragt and befragte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
befragt
8 ch
befragte

Look-alike desk: befragt vs befragte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: befragt is [bəˈfʁaːkt] while befragte is [bəˈfʁaːktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “befragt” sits inside “befragte”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31464, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

befragt is recorded at frequency rank #8,029, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfʁaːkt]. 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 31464, this pair ranks #1,727,560 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of befragt vs befragte

Shared letters: abefgrt. Private to "befragt": -. Private to "befragte": -.

"befragt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "befragte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • befragtbbefragt · befargt · beffragt · befraggt · befragtt · befratg · befrgat · befrragt
  • befragtebbefragte · befargte · beffragte · befraget · befraggte · befragtte · befratge · befrgate

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "befragt" and "befragte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "befragt" is a verb and "befragte" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "befragt" vs "befragte" - which ranks higher?
"befragt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,029 in our German list, against #23,435 for "befragte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "befragt" 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 #1,727,560 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "befragt" 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 #1,727,560 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