befugtvsbezeugtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,060
“befugt” frequency rank
#15,843
“bezeugt” frequency rank
40903
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature befugt bezeugt
Definition die Befugnis, das Recht, die Bevollmächtigung zu etwas besitzend mindestens durch einen Zeugen oder ein Zeugnis bestätigt

Where the eye mixes befugt and bezeugt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. befugt runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against bezeugt's 7 (CVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
befugt
7 ch
bezeugt

Look-alike desk: befugt vs bezeugt

A purely visual mix-up. befugt ([bəˈfuːkt]) and bezeugt ([bəˈt͡sɔɪ̯kt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40903, 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]. bezeugt is at rank #15,843, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈt͡sɔɪ̯kt].

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 40903, this pair ranks #1,494,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of befugt vs bezeugt

Shared letters: begtu. Private to "befugt": f. Private to "bezeugt": z.

"befugt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "bezeugt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • befugt ← bbefugt · beffugt · befgut · befuggt · befugtt · befutg · beufgt · bfeugt
  • bezeugt ← bbezeugt · beezugt · bezegut · bezeuggt · bezeugtt · bezeutg · bezuegt · bezzeugt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "befugt" and "bezeugt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈfuːkt] versus [bəˈt͡sɔɪ̯kt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "befugt" or "bezeugt"?
"bezeugt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,843 in our German list, against #25,060 for "befugt". 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 "befugt" and "bezeugt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "befugt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bezeugt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,494,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "befugt" and "bezeugt" 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 #1,494,996 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