behobenvsbelebenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,619
“behoben” frequency rank
#20,523
“beleben” frequency rank
31142
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature behoben beleben
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs beheben jemand oder etwas zum Leben erwecken

Where the eye mixes behoben and beleben

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

7 ch
behoben
7 ch
beleben

Why the eye confuses behoben with beleben

A purely visual mix-up. behoben ([bəˈhoːbn̩]) and beleben ([bəˈleːbn̩]) 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 31142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

behoben is recorded at frequency rank #10,619, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈhoːbn̩]. beleben is at rank #20,523, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈleːbn̩].

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 31142, this pair ranks #1,733,994 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of behoben vs beleben

Shared letters: ben. Private to "behoben": ho. Private to "beleben": l.

"behoben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "beleben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • behobenbbehoben · behboen · behhoben · behobben · behobenn · behobne · behoebn · beohben
  • belebenbbeleben · beelben · belbeen · belebben · belebenn · belebne · beleebn · belleben

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "behoben" for "beleben" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈhoːbn̩] versus [bəˈleːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "behoben" vs "beleben" - which ranks higher?
"behoben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,619 in our German list, against #20,523 for "beleben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "behoben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "beleben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,733,994 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "behoben" and "beleben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "begebe vs beleben". 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 #1,733,994 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