belügenvsberufenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: belügen is a verb, berufen is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“belügen” is a verb and “berufen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,957
“belügen” frequency rank
#3,563
“berufen” frequency rank
35520
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature belügen berufen
Definition jemandem eine Unwahrheit erzählen, bewusst Lügen verbreiten besonders/mehr als andere fähig/geeignet für Aufgabe oder Amt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set belügen and berufen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
belügen
7 ch
berufen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: belügen is [bəˈlyːɡn̩] while berufen is [bəˈʁuːfn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35520, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

belügen is recorded at frequency rank #31,957, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈlyːɡn̩]. berufen is at rank #3,563, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁuːfn̩].

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 35520, this pair ranks #1,638,027 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of belügen vs berufen

Shared letters: ben. Private to "belügen": glü. Private to "berufen": fru.

"belügen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "berufen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • berufenbberufen · berfuen · berrufen · beruefn · berufenn · beruffen · berufne · beurfen

Frequency comparison

belügen#31,957
berufen#3,563

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "belügen" and "berufen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "belügen" is a verb and "berufen" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "belügen" or "berufen"?
"berufen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,563 in our German list, against #31,957 for "belügen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering belügen vs berufen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “belügen”; for an adjective, it's “berufen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “belügen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list