Which to use
“bellen” is a verb and “bells” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,249
- “bellen” frequency rank
- #41,065
- “bells” frequency rank
- 55314
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bellen | bells |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die für Hunde typischen stimmhaften Töne von sich geben | Plural des Substantivs bell |
Where the eye mixes bellen and bells
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. bellen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against bells's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bellen vs bells
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bellen is [ˈbɛlən] while bells is [bɛlz]. 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 55314, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bellen is recorded at frequency rank #14,249, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɛlən]. bells is at rank #41,065, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bɛlz].
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 55314, this pair ranks #984,408 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bellen vs bells
Shared letters: bel. Private to "bellen": n. Private to "bells": s.
"bellen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "bells" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bellen" for "bells" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bellen" or "bells"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bellen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bells" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #984,408 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bellen" and "bells" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bells vs bills". 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 #984,408 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.