Which to use
“befugt” is an adjective and “betrügt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,060
- “befugt” frequency rank
- #26,780
- “betrügt” frequency rank
- 51840
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befugt | betrügt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Befugnis, das Recht, die Bevollmächtigung zu etwas besitzend | 2. Person Plural Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs betragen |
Where the eye mixes befugt and betrügt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. befugt runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against betrügt's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between befugt and betrügt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: befugt is [bəˈfuːkt] while betrügt is [bəˈtʁyːkt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51840, 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]. 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 51840, this pair ranks #1,119,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of befugt vs betrügt
Shared letters: begt. Private to "befugt": fu. Private to "betrügt": rü.
"befugt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "betrügt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- befugt ← bbefugt · beffugt · befgut · befuggt · befugtt · befutg · beufgt · bfeugt
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "befugt" for "betrügt" ever safe?
Frequency check: "befugt" vs "betrügt" - which ranks higher?
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 "betrügt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,119,981 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befugt" and "betrügt" 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 #1,119,981 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.