behebenvsbereuenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#11,821
“beheben” frequency rank
#13,320
“bereuen” frequency rank
25141
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beheben bereuen
Definition einen Schaden, einen Fehler beseitigen Reue über etwas empfinden

Where the eye mixes beheben and bereuen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. beheben (CVCVCVC) and bereuen (CVCVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
beheben
7 ch
bereuen

Visual trap between beheben and bereuen

A purely visual mix-up. beheben ([bəˈheːbn̩]) and bereuen ([bəˈʁɔɪ̯ən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25141, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beheben is recorded at frequency rank #11,821, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈheːbn̩]. bereuen is at rank #13,320, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁɔɪ̯ən].

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 25141, this pair ranks #1,837,555 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beheben vs bereuen

Shared letters: ben. Private to "beheben": h. Private to "bereuen": ru.

"beheben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "bereuen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • behebenbbeheben · beehben · behbeen · behebben · behebenn · behebne · beheebn · behheben
  • bereuenbbereuen · beeruen · bereeun · bereuenn · bereune · berreuen · berueen · breeuen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "beheben" and "bereuen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈheːbn̩] versus [bəˈʁɔɪ̯ən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "beheben" or "bereuen"?
"beheben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,821 in our German list, against #13,320 for "bereuen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "beheben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bereuen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,837,555 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beheben" and "bereuen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "begebe vs beheben". 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 #1,837,555 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