Which to use
“beilegen” and “besiegen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,512
- “beilegen” frequency rank
- #10,434
- “besiegen” frequency rank
- 56946
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beilegen | besiegen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zu etwas hinzufügen | den Sieg über jemanden erringen |
Where the eye mixes beilegen and besiegen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. beilegen (CVVCVCVC) and besiegen (CVCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses beilegen with besiegen
A purely visual mix-up. beilegen ([ˈbaɪ̯ˌleːɡn̩]) and besiegen ([bəˈziːɡn̩]) 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 56946, 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]. besiegen is at rank #10,434, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈziːɡn̩].
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 56946, this pair ranks #920,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of beilegen vs besiegen
Shared letters: begin. Private to "beilegen": l. Private to "besiegen": s.
"beilegen" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC · "besiegen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "beilegen" for "besiegen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "beilegen" or "besiegen"?
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 "beilegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "besiegen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #920,563 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beilegen" and "besiegen" 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 #920,563 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.