bekifft vs betrifft, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“bekifft” is an adjective and “betrifft” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,511
“bekifft” frequency rank: #2,195
“betrifft” frequency rank: 51706
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	bekifft	betrifft
Definition	im berauschten Zustand sein durch den Konsum von Cannabis	3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs betreffen

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

bekifft

8 ch

betrifft

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bekifft is [bəˈkɪft] while betrifft is [bəˈtʁɪft]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51706, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bekifft is recorded at frequency rank #49,511, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈkɪft]. betrifft is at rank #2,195, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁɪft].

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 51706, this pair ranks #1,125,220 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bekifft vs betrifft

Shared letters: befit. Private to "bekifft": k. Private to "betrifft": r.

"bekifft" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "betrifft" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

bekifft ← bbekifft · beikfft · bekfift · bekifftt · bekift · bekiftf · bekkifft · bkeifft
betrifft ← bbetrifft · bertifft · betirfft · betrfift · betrifftt · betrift · betriftf · betrrifft

Frequency comparison

bekifft#49,511

betrifft#2,195

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bekifft" and "betrifft" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bekifft" is an adjective and "betrifft" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "bekifft" or "betrifft"?

"betrifft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,195 in our German list, against #49,511 for "bekifft". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering bekifft vs betrifft

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “bekifft”; for a verb, it's “betrifft”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bekifft” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable