BehältervsbemaltenTell them apart

Quick tell: Behälter is a noun, bemalten is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Behälter” is a noun and “bemalten” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,608
“Behälter” frequency rank
#40,431
“bemalten” frequency rank
52039
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Behälter bemalten
Definition Gefäß mit einem hinreichenden Innenvolumen zum Aufbewahren oder Transportieren fester, flüssiger oder gasförmiger Stoffe, das verschlossen werden kann Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bemalt

Where the eye mixes Behälter and bemalten

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

8 ch
Behälter
8 ch
bemalten

Visual trap between Behälter and bemalten

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Behälter is [bəˈhɛltɐ] while bemalten is [bəˈmaːltn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52039, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Behälter is recorded at frequency rank #11,608, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈhɛltɐ]. bemalten is at rank #40,431, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈmaːltn̩].

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 52039, this pair ranks #1,112,318 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Behälter vs bemalten

Shared letters: belt. Private to "Behälter": hrä. Private to "bemalten": amn.

"Behälter" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "bemalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bemaltenbbemalten · beamlten · bemaletn · bemallten · bemaltenn · bemaltne · bemaltten · bematlen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Behälter" for "bemalten" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Behälter" is a noun and "bemalten" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Behälter" vs "bemalten" - which ranks higher?
"Behälter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,608 in our German list, against #40,431 for "bemalten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Behälter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bemalten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,112,318 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Behälter" and "bemalten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "behaltet vs bemalten". 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 #1,112,318 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