behaltevsbemaltWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#15,834
“behalte” frequency rank
#21,189
“bemalt” frequency rank
37023
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature behalte bemalt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs behalten Partizip Perfekt des Verbs bemalen

Where the eye mixes behalte and bemalt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
behalte
6 ch
bemalt

Why the eye confuses behalte with bemalt

A purely visual mix-up. behalte ([bəˈhaltə]) and bemalt ([bəˈmaːlt]) 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 37023, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

behalte is recorded at frequency rank #15,834, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈhaltə]. bemalt is at rank #21,189, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈmaːlt].

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 37023, this pair ranks #1,600,769 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of behalte vs bemalt

Shared letters: abelt. Private to "behalte": h. Private to "bemalt": m.

"behalte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "bemalt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • behaltebbehalte · beahlte · behalet · behallte · behaltte · behatle · behhalte · behlate
  • bemaltbbemalt · beamlt · bemallt · bemaltt · bematl · bemlat · bemmalt · bmealt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "behalte" and "bemalt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈhaltə] versus [bəˈmaːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "behalte" or "bemalt"?
"behalte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,834 in our German list, against #21,189 for "bemalt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "behalte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bemalt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,600,769 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "behalte" and "bemalt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bellt vs bemalt". 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 #1,600,769 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