BelegvsbellenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Beleg is a noun, bellen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Beleg” is a noun and “bellen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,990
“Beleg” frequency rank
#14,249
“bellen” frequency rank
23239
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Beleg bellen
Definition ein Beweis, ein Nachweis die für Hunde typischen stimmhaften Töne von sich geben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Beleg and bellen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Beleg
6 ch
bellen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Beleg is [bəˈleːk] while bellen is [ˈbɛlən]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23239, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Beleg is recorded at frequency rank #8,990, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈleːk]. bellen is at rank #14,249, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɛlən].

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 23239, this pair ranks #1,863,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Beleg vs bellen

Shared letters: bel. Private to "Beleg": g. Private to "bellen": n.

"Beleg" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "bellen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Belegbbeleg · beelg · belegg · belge · belleg · bleeg · ebleg
  • bellenbbellen · beleln · belen · bellenn · bellne · blelen · ebllen

Frequency comparison

Beleg#8,990
bellen#14,249

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Beleg" and "bellen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Beleg" is a noun and "bellen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Beleg" or "bellen"?
"Beleg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,990 in our German list, against #14,249 for "bellen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Beleg vs bellen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list