bejahenvsbewahrenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,800
“bejahen” frequency rank
#4,868
“bewahren” frequency rank
50668
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bejahen bewahren
Definition seine Zustimmung geben; ja sagen etwas Positives auch in einer schwierigen Situation beibehalten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bejahen and bewahren apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
bejahen
8 ch
bewahren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. bejahen ([bəˈjaːən]) and bewahren ([bəˈvaːʁən]) 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 50668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bejahen is recorded at frequency rank #45,800, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈjaːən]. bewahren is at rank #4,868, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈvaːʁən].

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 50668, this pair ranks #1,165,041 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bejahen vs bewahren

Shared letters: abehn. Private to "bejahen": j. Private to "bewahren": rw.

"bejahen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "bewahren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bejahenbbejahen · beajhen · bejaehn · bejahenn · bejahhen · bejahne · bejhaen · bejjahen
  • bewahrenbbewahren · beawhren · bewahern · bewahhren · bewahrenn · bewahrne · bewahrren · bewarhen

Frequency comparison

bejahen#45,800
bewahren#4,868

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bejahen" and "bewahren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈjaːən] versus [bəˈvaːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bejahen" or "bewahren"?
"bewahren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,868 in our German list, against #45,800 for "bejahen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bejahen vs bewahren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bejahen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list