begebenvsbehobenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,638
“begeben” frequency rank
#10,619
“behoben” frequency rank
17257
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature begeben behoben
Definition geschehen, sich ereignen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs beheben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set begeben and behoben apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
begeben
7 ch
behoben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. begeben ([bəˈɡeːbn̩]) and behoben ([bəˈhoːbn̩]) 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 17257, 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]. behoben is at rank #10,619, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈhoːbn̩].

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 17257, this pair ranks #1,928,996 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of begeben vs behoben

Shared letters: ben. Private to "begeben": g. Private to "behoben": ho.

"begeben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "behoben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • begebenbbegeben · beegben · begbeen · begebben · begebenn · begebne · begeebn · beggeben
  • behobenbbehoben · behboen · behhoben · behobben · behobenn · behobne · behoebn · beohben

Frequency comparison

begeben#6,638
behoben#10,619

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "begeben" and "behoben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈɡeːbn̩] versus [bəˈhoːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "begeben" or "behoben"?
"begeben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,638 in our German list, against #10,619 for "behoben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering begeben vs behoben

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “begeben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list