behebenvsbliebenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#11,821
“beheben” frequency rank
#2,757
“blieben” frequency rank
14578
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beheben blieben
Definition einen Schaden, einen Fehler beseitigen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bleiben

Where the eye mixes beheben and blieben

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

7 ch
beheben
7 ch
blieben

Look-alike desk: beheben vs blieben

A purely visual mix-up. beheben ([bəˈheːbn̩]) and blieben ([ˈbliːbn̩]) 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 14578, 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]. blieben is at rank #2,757, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbliːbn̩].

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 14578, this pair ranks #1,950,233 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beheben vs blieben

Shared letters: ben. Private to "beheben": h. Private to "blieben": il.

"beheben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "blieben" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • behebenbbeheben · beehben · behbeen · behebben · behebenn · behebne · beheebn · behheben
  • bliebenbblieben · bileben · blibeen · bliebben · bliebenn · bliebne · blieebn · bllieben

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beheben" and "blieben" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈheːbn̩] versus [ˈbliːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "beheben" or "blieben" show up more?
"blieben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,757 in our German list, against #11,821 for "beheben". 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 "blieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,950,233 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beheben" and "blieben" 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 #1,950,233 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