BelästigungvsBewältigungConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,307
“Belästigung” frequency rank
#16,103
“Bewältigung” frequency rank
31410
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Belästigung Bewältigung
Definition nachhaltiges Einwirken auf Personen, was als unangenehm empfunden wird Lösung eines schwierigen Problems oder einer anstrengenden Aufgabe

Where the eye mixes Belästigung and Bewältigung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Belästigung and Bewältigung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
Belästigung
11 ch
Bewältigung

Look-alike desk: Belästigung vs Bewältigung

A purely visual mix-up. Belästigung ([bəˈlɛstɪɡʊŋ]) and Bewältigung ([bəˈvɛltɪɡʊŋ]) 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 31410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Belästigung is recorded at frequency rank #15,307, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈlɛstɪɡʊŋ]. Bewältigung is at rank #16,103, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈvɛltɪɡʊŋ].

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 31410, this pair ranks #1,728,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Belästigung vs Bewältigung

Shared letters: begilntuä. Private to "Belästigung": s. Private to "Bewältigung": w.

"Belästigung" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCC  ·  "Bewältigung" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Belästigung" and "Bewältigung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈlɛstɪɡʊŋ] versus [bəˈvɛltɪɡʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Belästigung" or "Bewältigung" show up more?
"Belästigung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,307 in our German list, against #16,103 for "Bewältigung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Belästigung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Bewältigung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,728,687 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Belästigung" and "Bewältigung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Belästigung vs Belustigung". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,728,687 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