BelehrungvsBelohnungWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#29,956
“Belehrung” frequency rank
#6,279
“Belohnung” frequency rank
36235
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Belehrung Belohnung
Definition Vermittlung von Kenntnissen; Zurechtweisung Anerkennung, Gegenleistung für etwas, das jemand getan oder unterlassen hat

Where the eye mixes Belehrung and Belohnung

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

9 ch
Belehrung
9 ch
Belohnung

Why the eye confuses Belehrung with Belohnung

A purely visual mix-up. Belehrung ([bəˈleːʁʊŋ]) and Belohnung ([bəˈloːnʊŋ]) 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 36235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Belehrung is recorded at frequency rank #29,956, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈleːʁʊŋ]. Belohnung is at rank #6,279, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈloːnʊŋ].

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 36235, this pair ranks #1,620,711 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Belehrung vs Belohnung

Shared letters: beghlnu. Private to "Belehrung": r. Private to "Belohnung": o.

"Belehrung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC  ·  "Belohnung" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Belehrungbbelehrung · beelhrung · belehhrung · belehrnug · belehrrung · belehrugn · belehrungg · belehrunng
  • Belohnungbbelohnung · belhonung · bellohnung · belohhnung · belohnnug · belohnnung · belohnugn · belohnungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Belehrung" for "Belohnung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈleːʁʊŋ] versus [bəˈloːnʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Belehrung" vs "Belohnung" - which ranks higher?
"Belohnung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,279 in our German list, against #29,956 for "Belehrung". 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 "Belehrung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Belohnung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,620,711 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Belehrung" and "Belohnung" 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 #1,620,711 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