beitragenvsbeizutragenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#4,769
“beitragen” frequency rank
#16,647
“beizutragen” frequency rank
21416
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beitragen beizutragen
Definition einen Anteil zur Verwirklichung von etwas leisten erweiterter Infinitiv Aktiv des Verbs beitragen

Where the eye mixes beitragen and beizutragen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. beitragen runs 9 letters (CVVCCVCVC) against beizutragen's 11 (CVVCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
beitragen
11 ch
beizutragen

Look-alike desk: beitragen vs beizutragen

A purely visual mix-up. beitragen ([ˈbaɪ̯ˌtʁaːɡn̩]) and beizutragen ([ˈbaɪ̯t͡suˌtʁaːɡn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21416, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beitragen is recorded at frequency rank #4,769, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbaɪ̯ˌtʁaːɡn̩]. beizutragen is at rank #16,647, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbaɪ̯t͡suˌtʁaːɡn̩].

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 21416, this pair ranks #1,886,515 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beitragen vs beizutragen

Shared letters: abeginrt. Private to "beitragen": -. Private to "beizutragen": uz.

"beitragen" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCVC  ·  "beizutragen" · 11 letters · shape CVVCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beitragenbbeitragen · beirtagen · beitargen · beitraegn · beitragenn · beitraggen · beitragne · beitrgaen
  • beizutragenbbeizutragen · beiuztragen · beizturagen · beizurtagen · beizutargen · beizutraegn · beizutragenn · beizutraggen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "beitragen" for "beizutragen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbaɪ̯ˌtʁaːɡn̩] versus [ˈbaɪ̯t͡suˌtʁaːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "beitragen" or "beizutragen" show up more?
"beitragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,769 in our German list, against #16,647 for "beizutragen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "beitragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "beizutragen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,886,515 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beitragen" and "beizutragen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beitragen vs Beitrages". 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 #1,886,515 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