BelastungvsBelüftungConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,328
“Belastung” frequency rank
#41,688
“Belüftung” frequency rank
46016
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Belastung Belüftung
Definition eine Beanspruchung, die Schaden verursachen kann das Belüften von Räumen zur Lufterneuerung

Where the eye mixes Belastung and Belüftung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. Belastung and Belüftung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

9 ch
Belastung
9 ch
Belüftung

Why the eye confuses Belastung with Belüftung

A purely visual mix-up. Belastung ([bəˈlastʊŋ]) and Belüftung ([bəˈlʏftʊŋ]) 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 46016, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Belastung is recorded at frequency rank #4,328, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈlastʊŋ]. Belüftung is at rank #41,688, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈlʏftʊŋ].

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 46016, this pair ranks #1,333,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Belastung vs Belüftung

Shared letters: beglntu. Private to "Belastung": as. Private to "Belüftung": fü.

"Belastung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "Belüftung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Belastung ← bbelastung · bealstung · belasstung · belastnug · belasttung · belastugn · belastungg · belastunng

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Belastung" and "Belüftung" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈlastʊŋ] versus [bəˈlʏftʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Belastung" or "Belüftung"?
"Belastung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,328 in our German list, against #41,688 for "Belüftung". 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 "Belastung" and "Belüftung" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Belastung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Belüftung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,333,385 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Belastung" and "Belüftung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Belüftung vs Blutung". 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 #1,333,385 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