begnügenvsBezügenWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: begnügen is a verb, Bezügen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“begnügen” is a verb and “Bezügen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,184
“begnügen” frequency rank
#34,554
“Bezügen” frequency rank
52738
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature begnügen Bezügen
Definition mit etwas Einfachem oder mit weniger zufrieden sein, als man haben könnte Dativ Plural des Substantivs Bezug

Where the eye mixes begnügen and Bezügen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. begnügen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against Bezügen's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
begnügen
7 ch
Bezügen

Visual trap between begnügen and Bezügen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: begnügen is [bəˈɡnyːɡn̩] while Bezügen is [bəˈt͡syːɡn̩]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52738, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

begnügen is recorded at frequency rank #18,184, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈɡnyːɡn̩]. Bezügen is at rank #34,554, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈt͡syːɡn̩].

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 52738, this pair ranks #1,085,173 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of begnügen vs Bezügen

Shared letters: begnü. Private to "begnügen": -. Private to "Bezügen": z.

"begnügen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "Bezügen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "begnügen" and "Bezügen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "begnügen" is a verb and "Bezügen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "begnügen" or "Bezügen"?
"begnügen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,184 in our German list, against #34,554 for "Bezügen". 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 "begnügen" and "Bezügen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "begnügen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Bezügen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,085,173 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "begnügen" and "Bezügen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beulen vs Bezügen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,085,173 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