behältvsbejahtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,031
“behält” frequency rank
#37,996
“bejaht” frequency rank
46027
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature behält bejaht
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs behalten Partizip Perfekt des Verbs bejahen

Where the eye mixes behält and bejaht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
behält
6 ch
bejaht

Look-alike desk: behält vs bejaht

A purely visual mix-up. behält ([bəˈhɛlt]) and bejaht ([bəˈjaːt]) 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 46027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

behält is recorded at frequency rank #8,031, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈhɛlt]. bejaht is at rank #37,996, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈjaːt].

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 46027, this pair ranks #1,332,986 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of behält vs bejaht

Shared letters: beht. Private to "behält": . Private to "bejaht": aj.

"behält" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "bejaht" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bejahtbbejaht · beajht · bejahht · bejahtt · bejath · bejhat · bejjaht · bjeaht

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "behält" and "bejaht" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈhɛlt] versus [bəˈjaːt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "behält" or "bejaht"?
"behält" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,031 in our German list, against #37,996 for "bejaht". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "behält" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bejaht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,332,986 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "behält" and "bejaht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bejahen vs bejaht". 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 #1,332,986 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