begrabenvsberaubenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,394
“begraben” frequency rank
#30,473
“berauben” frequency rank
36867
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature begraben berauben
Definition einen Verstorbenen beisetzen, beerdigen jemandem etwas, gegebenenfalls auch unter Androhung von Gewalt, wegnehmen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set begraben and berauben apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
begraben
8 ch
berauben

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. begraben ([bəˈɡʁaːbn̩]) and berauben ([bəˈʁaʊ̯bn̩]) 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 36867, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

begraben is recorded at frequency rank #6,394, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈɡʁaːbn̩]. berauben is at rank #30,473, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁaʊ̯bn̩].

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 36867, this pair ranks #1,604,706 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of begraben vs berauben

Shared letters: abenr. Private to "begraben": g. Private to "berauben": u.

"begraben" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "berauben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • begrabenbbegraben · begarben · beggraben · begrabben · begrabenn · begrabne · begraebn · begrbaen
  • beraubenbberauben · bearuben · berabuen · beraubben · beraubenn · beraubne · berauebn · berrauben

Frequency comparison

begraben#6,394
berauben#30,473

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "begraben" and "berauben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈɡʁaːbn̩] versus [bəˈʁaʊ̯bn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "begraben" or "berauben"?
"begraben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,394 in our German list, against #30,473 for "berauben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering begraben vs berauben

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 “begraben” 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