belehrenvsbelehrtWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#19,151
“belehren” frequency rank
#20,852
“belehrt” frequency rank
40003
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature belehren belehrt
Definition jemandem eine wichtige Information geben Partizip Perfekt des Verbs belehren

Where the eye mixes belehren and belehrt

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

8 ch
belehren
7 ch
belehrt

Why the eye confuses belehren with belehrt

A purely visual mix-up. belehren ([bəˈleːʁən]) and belehrt ([bəˈleːɐ̯t]) 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 40003, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

belehren is recorded at frequency rank #19,151, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈleːʁən]. belehrt is at rank #20,852, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈleːɐ̯t].

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 40003, this pair ranks #1,520,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of belehren vs belehrt

Shared letters: behlr. Private to "belehren": n. Private to "belehrt": t.

"belehren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "belehrt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • belehrenbbelehren · beelhren · belehern · belehhren · belehrenn · belehrne · belehrren · belerhen
  • belehrtbbelehrt · beelhrt · belehhrt · belehrrt · belehrtt · belehtr · belerht · belhert

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "belehren" for "belehrt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈleːʁən] versus [bəˈleːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "belehren" vs "belehrt" - which ranks higher?
"belehren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,151 in our German list, against #20,852 for "belehrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "belehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "belehrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,520,763 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "belehren" and "belehrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "belebten vs belehren". 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 #1,520,763 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