Which to use
“behalten” is a verb and “bemalte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,017
- “behalten” frequency rank
- #40,430
- “bemalte” frequency rank
- 42447
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | behalten | bemalte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im Besitz einer Sache bleiben | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bemalt |
Where the eye mixes behalten and bemalte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. behalten runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against bemalte's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: behalten vs bemalte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: behalten is [bəˈhaltn̩] while bemalte is [bəˈmaːltə]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
behalten is recorded at frequency rank #2,017, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈhaltn̩]. 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 42447, this pair ranks #1,449,003 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of behalten vs bemalte
Shared letters: abelt. Private to "behalten": hn. Private to "bemalte": m.
"behalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "bemalte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "behalten" and "bemalte" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "behalten" vs "bemalte" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "behalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bemalte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,449,003 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "behalten" and "bemalte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "behaltet vs bemalte". 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 #1,449,003 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.