belügenvsbeugenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#31,957
“belügen” frequency rank
#14,523
“beugen” frequency rank
46480
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature belügen beugen
Definition jemandem eine Unwahrheit erzählen, bewusst Lügen verbreiten biegen, krümmen

Where the eye mixes belügen and beugen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. belügen runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against beugen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
belügen
6 ch
beugen

Look-alike desk: belügen vs beugen

A purely visual mix-up. belügen ([bəˈlyːɡn̩]) and beugen ([ˈbɔɪ̯ɡn̩]) 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 46480, 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]. beugen is at rank #14,523, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɔɪ̯ɡn̩].

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 46480, this pair ranks #1,317,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of belügen vs beugen

Shared letters: begn. Private to "belügen": lü. Private to "beugen": u.

"belügen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "beugen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beugen ← bbeugen · beguen · beuegn · beugenn · beuggen · beugne · buegen · ebugen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "belügen" for "beugen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈlyːɡn̩] versus [ˈbɔɪ̯ɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "belügen" vs "beugen" - which ranks higher?
"beugen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,523 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.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "belügen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "beugen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,317,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "belügen" and "beugen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "belügen vs Blusen". 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 #1,317,639 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