Which to use
“begeben” and “begraben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,638
- “begeben” frequency rank
- #6,394
- “begraben” frequency rank
- 13032
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | begeben | begraben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | geschehen, sich ereignen | einen Verstorbenen beisetzen, beerdigen |
Where the eye mixes begeben and begraben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. begeben runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against begraben's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between begeben and begraben
A purely visual mix-up. begeben ([bəˈɡeːbn̩]) and begraben ([bəˈɡʁaːbn̩]) 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 13032, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
begeben is recorded at frequency rank #6,638, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈɡeːbn̩]. begraben is at rank #6,394, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈɡʁaːbn̩].
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 13032, this pair ranks #1,960,542 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of begeben vs begraben
Shared letters: begn. Private to "begeben": -. Private to "begraben": ar.
"begeben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "begraben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "begeben" for "begraben" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "begeben" or "begraben" 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 "begeben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "begraben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,960,542 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "begeben" and "begraben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "begebe vs begeben". 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 #1,960,542 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.