behindernvsbewundernWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,017
“behindern” frequency rank
#10,822
“bewundern” frequency rank
24839
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature behindern bewundern
Definition stören, an etwas hindern, von etwas abhalten etwas oder jemanden als außergewöhnlich betrachten, hochschätzen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set behindern and bewundern apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
behindern
9 ch
bewundern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. behindern ([bəˈhɪndɐn]) and bewundern ([bəˈvʊndɐn]) 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 24839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

behindern is recorded at frequency rank #14,017, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈhɪndɐn]. bewundern is at rank #10,822, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈvʊndɐn].

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 24839, this pair ranks #1,841,930 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of behindern vs bewundern

Shared letters: bdenr. Private to "behindern": hi. Private to "bewundern": uw.

"behindern" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "bewundern" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • behindernbbehindern · behhindern · behidnern · behinddern · behindenr · behindernn · behinderrn · behindren
  • bewundernbbewundern · beuwndern · bewnudern · bewudnern · bewunddern · bewundenr · bewundernn · bewunderrn

Frequency comparison

behindern#14,017
bewundern#10,822

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "behindern" and "bewundern" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈhɪndɐn] versus [bəˈvʊndɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "behindern" or "bewundern"?
"bewundern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,822 in our German list, against #14,017 for "behindern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering behindern vs bewundern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “behindern” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list