Which to use
“befuhr” and “bemühe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,044
- “befuhr” frequency rank
- #28,560
- “bemühe” frequency rank
- 71604
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | befuhr | bemühe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs befahren | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bemühen |
Where the eye mixes befuhr and bemühe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. befuhr (CVCVCC) and bemühe (CVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses befuhr with bemühe
A purely visual mix-up. befuhr ([bəˈfuːɐ̯]) and bemühe ([bəˈmyːə]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71604, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
befuhr is recorded at frequency rank #43,044, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈfuːɐ̯]. bemühe is at rank #28,560, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈmyːə].
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 71604, this pair ranks #412,058 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of befuhr vs bemühe
Shared letters: beh. Private to "befuhr": fru. Private to "bemühe": mü.
"befuhr" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "bemühe" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- befuhr ← bbefuhr · beffuhr · befhur · befuhhr · befuhrr · befurh · beufhr · bfeuhr
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "befuhr" and "bemühe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "befuhr" or "bemühe" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "befuhr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bemühe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #412,058 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "befuhr" and "bemühe" 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 #412,058 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.