beichtenvsblicktenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#39,234
“beichten” frequency rank
#39,251
“blickten” frequency rank
78485
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beichten blickten
Definition seine Sünden und Vergehen einem Geistlichen erzählen; seine Sünden bekennen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs blicken

Where the eye mixes beichten and blickten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. beichten (CVVCCCVC) and blickten (CCVCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
beichten
8 ch
blickten

Why the eye confuses beichten with blickten

A purely visual mix-up. beichten ([ˈbaɪ̯çtn̩]) and blickten ([ˈblɪktn̩]) 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 78485, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beichten is recorded at frequency rank #39,234, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbaɪ̯çtn̩]. blickten is at rank #39,251, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈblɪktn̩].

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 78485, this pair ranks #237,327 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of beichten vs blickten

Shared letters: bceint. Private to "beichten": h. Private to "blickten": kl.

"beichten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC  ·  "blickten" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beichten ← bbeichten · becihten · beicchten · beichetn · beichhten · beichtenn · beichtne · beichtten
  • blickten ← bblickten · bilckten · blcikten · blicckten · blicketn · blickkten · blicktenn · blicktne

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "beichten" for "blickten" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbaɪ̯çtn̩] versus [ˈblɪktn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "beichten" or "blickten"?
"beichten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,234 in our German list, against #39,251 for "blickten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "beichten" and "blickten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "beichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "blickten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #237,327 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beichten" and "blickten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beichten vs bleichen". 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 #237,327 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