beliebenvsbeliefernConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,042
“belieben” frequency rank
#35,659
“beliefern” frequency rank
50701
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature belieben beliefern
Definition Lust haben, etwas zu tun jemandem Waren zustellen

Where the eye mixes belieben and beliefern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. belieben runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against beliefern's 9 (CVCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
belieben
9 ch
beliefern

Why the eye confuses belieben with beliefern

A purely visual mix-up. belieben ([bəˈliːbn̩]) and beliefern ([bəˈliːfɐn]) 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 50701, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

belieben is recorded at frequency rank #15,042, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈliːbn̩]. beliefern is at rank #35,659, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈliːfɐn].

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 50701, this pair ranks #1,163,771 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of belieben vs beliefern

Shared letters: beiln. Private to "belieben": -. Private to "beliefern": fr.

"belieben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC  ·  "beliefern" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • belieben ← bbelieben · beileben · beleiben · belibeen · beliebben · beliebenn · beliebne · belieebn
  • beliefern ← bbeliefern · beilefern · beleifern · belieefrn · beliefenr · beliefernn · belieferrn · belieffern

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "belieben" and "beliefern" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈliːbn̩] versus [bəˈliːfɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "belieben" or "beliefern"?
"belieben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,042 in our German list, against #35,659 for "beliefern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "belieben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "beliefern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,163,771 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "belieben" and "beliefern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beliefen vs beliefern". 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 #1,163,771 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