bemalenvsbemaltWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#41,066
“bemalen” frequency rank
#21,189
“bemalt” frequency rank
62255
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bemalen bemalt
Definition mit Malereien verzieren, dekorieren Partizip Perfekt des Verbs bemalen

Where the eye mixes bemalen and bemalt

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

7 ch
bemalen
6 ch
bemalt

Look-alike desk: bemalen vs bemalt

A purely visual mix-up. bemalen ([bəˈmaːlən]) and bemalt ([bəˈmaːlt]) 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 62255, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bemalen is recorded at frequency rank #41,066, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈmaːlən]. bemalt is at rank #21,189, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈmaːlt].

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 62255, this pair ranks #719,675 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bemalen vs bemalt

Shared letters: abelm. Private to "bemalen": n. Private to "bemalt": t.

"bemalen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "bemalt" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bemalen ← bbemalen · beamlen · bemaeln · bemalenn · bemallen · bemalne · bemlaen · bemmalen
  • bemalt ← bbemalt · beamlt · bemallt · bemaltt · bematl · bemlat · bemmalt · bmealt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bemalen" and "bemalt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈmaːlən] versus [bəˈmaːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "bemalen" or "bemalt" show up more?
"bemalt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,189 in our German list, against #41,066 for "bemalen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "bemalen" and "bemalt" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bemalen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bemalt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #719,675 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bemalen" and "bemalt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "banalen vs bemalen". 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 #719,675 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