Which to use
“befugt” and “belegt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,060
- “befugt” frequency rank
- #2,756
- “belegt” frequency rank
- 27816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befugt | belegt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Befugnis, das Recht, die Bevollmächtigung zu etwas besitzend | etwas ist mit einem Belag versehen |
Where the eye mixes befugt and belegt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses befugt with belegt
A purely visual mix-up. befugt ([bəˈfuːkt]) and belegt ([bəˈleːkt]) 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 27816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befugt is recorded at frequency rank #25,060, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈfuːkt]. belegt is at rank #2,756, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈleːkt].
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 27816, this pair ranks #1,795,366 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of befugt vs belegt
Shared letters: begt. Private to "befugt": fu. Private to "belegt": l.
"befugt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "belegt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "befugt" and "belegt" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "befugt" or "belegt"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "befugt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "belegt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,795,366 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befugt" and "belegt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befugt vs befuhr". 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 #1,795,366 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.