BeinenvsBettenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#5,147
“Beinen” frequency rank
#7,297
“Betten” frequency rank
12444
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Beinen Betten
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Bein Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Bett

Where the eye mixes Beinen and Betten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Beinen (CVVCVC) and Betten (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
Beinen
6 ch
Betten

Why the eye confuses Beinen with Betten

A purely visual mix-up. Beinen ([ˈbaɪ̯nən]) and Betten ([ˈbɛtn̩]) 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 12444, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Beinen is recorded at frequency rank #5,147, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbaɪ̯nən]. Betten is at rank #7,297, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɛtn̩].

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 12444, this pair ranks #1,964,157 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Beinen vs Betten

Shared letters: ben. Private to "Beinen": i. Private to "Betten": t.

"Beinen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Betten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Beinen ← bbeinen · beienn · beinenn · beinnen · benien · ebinen
  • Betten ← bbetten · betetn · bettenn · bettne · bteten · ebtten

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Beinen" and "Betten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbaɪ̯nən] versus [ˈbɛtn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Beinen" or "Betten" show up more?
"Beinen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,147 in our German list, against #7,297 for "Betten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Beinen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Betten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,964,157 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Beinen" and "Betten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bestien vs Betten". 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 #1,964,157 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