belagernvsbelügenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#45,801
“belagern” frequency rank
#31,957
“belügen” frequency rank
77758
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature belagern belügen
Definition eine militärische Taktik anwenden, bei der eine feindliche Stellung umschlossen wird, um ihren Nachschub abzuschneiden jemandem eine Unwahrheit erzählen, bewusst Lügen verbreiten

Where the eye mixes belagern and belügen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. belagern runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCC) against belügen's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
belagern
7 ch
belügen

Why the eye confuses belagern with belügen

A purely visual mix-up. belagern ([bəˈlaːɡɐn]) and belügen ([bəˈlyːɡn̩]) 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 77758, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

belagern is recorded at frequency rank #45,801, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈlaːɡɐn]. belügen is at rank #31,957, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈlyːɡn̩].

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 77758, this pair ranks #253,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of belagern vs belügen

Shared letters: begln. Private to "belagern": ar. Private to "belügen": ü.

"belagern" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC  ·  "belügen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • belagernbbelagern · bealgern · belaegrn · belagenr · belagernn · belagerrn · belaggern · belagren

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "belagern" for "belügen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈlaːɡɐn] versus [bəˈlyːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "belagern" or "belügen"?
"belügen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,957 in our German list, against #45,801 for "belagern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "belagern" and "belügen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "belagern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "belügen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #253,575 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "belagern" and "belügen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "belagern vs belagerten". 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 #253,575 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