Which to use
“belehren” is a verb and “Belehrung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,151
- “belehren” frequency rank
- #29,956
- “Belehrung” frequency rank
- 49107
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | belehren | Belehrung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem eine wichtige Information geben | Vermittlung von Kenntnissen; Zurechtweisung |
Where the eye mixes belehren and Belehrung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. belehren runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against Belehrung's 9 (CVCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses belehren with Belehrung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: belehren is [bəˈleːʁən] while Belehrung is [bəˈleːʁʊŋ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49107, 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]. Belehrung is at rank #29,956, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈleːʁʊŋ].
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 49107, this pair ranks #1,223,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of belehren vs Belehrung
Shared letters: behlnr. Private to "belehren": -. Private to "Belehrung": gu.
"belehren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "Belehrung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "belehren" for "Belehrung" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "belehren" or "Belehrung" show up more?
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 "belehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Belehrung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,223,851 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "belehren" and "Belehrung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bekehrung vs Belehrung". 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 #1,223,851 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.