befragtvsbetrügtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,029
“befragt” frequency rank
#26,780
“betrügt” frequency rank
34809
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befragt betrügt
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs befragen 2. Person Plural Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs betragen

Where the eye mixes befragt and betrügt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
befragt
7 ch
betrügt

Why the eye confuses befragt with betrügt

A purely visual mix-up. befragt ([bəˈfʁaːkt]) and betrügt ([bəˈtʁyːkt]) 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 34809, 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]. betrügt is at rank #26,780, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁyːkt].

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 34809, this pair ranks #1,654,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of befragt vs betrügt

Shared letters: begrt. Private to "befragt": af. Private to "betrügt": ü.

"befragt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "betrügt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • befragtbbefragt · befargt · beffragt · befraggt · befragtt · befratg · befrgat · befrragt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "befragt" and "betrügt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈfʁaːkt] versus [bəˈtʁyːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "befragt" or "betrügt"?
"befragt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,029 in our German list, against #26,780 for "betrügt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "befragt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "betrügt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,654,768 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "befragt" and "betrügt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beitrug vs betrügt". 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 #1,654,768 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