Which to use
“behalte” is a verb and “bemalte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,834
- “behalte” frequency rank
- #40,430
- “bemalte” frequency rank
- 56264
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | behalte | bemalte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs behalten | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bemalt |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set behalte and bemalte apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
behalte and bemalte form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - h in “behalte” becomes m in “bemalte” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56264, 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]. bemalte is at rank #40,430, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈmaːltə].
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 56264, this pair ranks #946,999 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "behalte" and "bemalte" be used interchangeably?
Remembering behalte vs bemalte
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “behalte”; for an adjective, it's “bemalte”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “behalte” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable