Which to use
“behalten” and “beraten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,017
- “behalten” frequency rank
- #4,024
- “beraten” frequency rank
- 6041
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | behalten | beraten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im Besitz einer Sache bleiben | einen Vorschlag dazu machen, was eine Person tun oder lassen kann |
Where the eye mixes behalten and beraten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between behalten and beraten
A purely visual mix-up. behalten ([bəˈhaltn̩]) and beraten ([bəˈʁaːtn̩]) 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 6041, 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]. beraten is at rank #4,024, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁaːtn̩].
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 6041, this pair ranks #1,992,927 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of behalten vs beraten
Shared letters: abent. Private to "behalten": hl. Private to "beraten": r.
"behalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "beraten" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "behalten" for "beraten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "behalten" or "beraten"?
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 "behalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "beraten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,992,927 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "behalten" and "beraten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bejahen vs beraten". 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 #1,992,927 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.