Which to use
“belebten” is an adjective and “belieben” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,946
- “belebten” frequency rank
- #15,042
- “belieben” frequency rank
- 47988
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | belebten | belieben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs belebt | Lust haben, etwas zu tun |
Where the eye mixes belebten and belieben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. belebten (CVCVCCVC) and belieben (CVCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between belebten and belieben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: belebten is [bəˈleːptn̩] while belieben is [bəˈliːbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47988, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
belebten is recorded at frequency rank #32,946, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈleːptn̩]. belieben is at rank #15,042, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈliːbn̩].
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 47988, this pair ranks #1,264,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of belebten vs belieben
Shared letters: beln. Private to "belebten": t. Private to "belieben": i.
"belebten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "belieben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "belebten" and "belieben" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "belebten" or "belieben"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "belebten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "belieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,264,855 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "belebten" and "belieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "belebte vs belebten". 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 #1,264,855 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.