beilegenvsbelebenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#46,512
“beilegen” frequency rank
#20,523
“beleben” frequency rank
67035
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beilegen beleben
Definition zu etwas hinzufügen jemand oder etwas zum Leben erwecken

Where the eye mixes beilegen and beleben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. beilegen runs 8 letters (CVVCVCVC) against beleben's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
beilegen
7 ch
beleben

Look-alike desk: beilegen vs beleben

A purely visual mix-up. beilegen ([ˈbaɪ̯ˌleːɡn̩]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67035, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beilegen is recorded at frequency rank #46,512, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbaɪ̯ˌleːɡn̩]. 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 67035, this pair ranks #553,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of beilegen vs beleben

Shared letters: beln. Private to "beilegen": gi. Private to "beleben": -.

"beilegen" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC  ·  "beleben" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beilegen ← bbeilegen · beielgen · beileegn · beilegenn · beileggen · beilegne · beilgeen · beillegen
  • beleben ← bbeleben · beelben · belbeen · belebben · belebenn · belebne · beleebn · belleben

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "beilegen" and "beleben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbaɪ̯ˌleːɡn̩] versus [bəˈleːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "beilegen" or "beleben"?
"beleben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,523 in our German list, against #46,512 for "beilegen". 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 "beilegen" 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 #553,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beilegen" and "beleben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beilegen vs belügen". 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 #553,354 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