befragtvsbetrageWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“befragt” and “betrage” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,029
“befragt” frequency rank
#38,002
“betrage” frequency rank
46031
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befragt betrage
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs befragen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs betragen

Where the eye mixes befragt and betrage

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. befragt (CVCCVCC) and betrage (CVCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
befragt
7 ch
betrage

Why the eye confuses befragt with betrage

A purely visual mix-up. befragt ([bəˈfʁaːkt]) and betrage ([bəˈtʁaːɡə]) 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 46031, 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]. betrage is at rank #38,002, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁaːɡə].

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 46031, this pair ranks #1,332,876 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of befragt vs betrage

Shared letters: abegrt. Private to "befragt": f. Private to "betrage": -.

"befragt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "betrage" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • befragt ← bbefragt · befargt · beffragt · befraggt · befragtt · befratg · befrgat · befrragt
  • betrage ← bbetrage · bertage · betarge · betraeg · betragge · betrgae · betrrage · bettrage

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "befragt" and "betrage" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈfʁaːkt] versus [bəˈtʁaːɡə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "befragt" vs "betrage" - which ranks higher?
"befragt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,029 in our German list, against #38,002 for "betrage". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "befragt" and "betrage" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "befragt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "betrage" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,332,876 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "befragt" and "betrage" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "betrage vs betrete". 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 #1,332,876 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