Which to use
“bemalten” and “bemühten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,431
- “bemalten” frequency rank
- #31,958
- “bemühten” frequency rank
- 72389
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bemalten | bemühten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bemalt | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs bemüht |
Where the eye mixes bemalten and bemühten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bemalten with bemühten
A purely visual mix-up. bemalten ([bəˈmaːltn̩]) and bemühten ([bəˈmyːtn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72389, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bemalten is recorded at frequency rank #40,431, classified as anadj, pronounced [bəˈmaːltn̩]. bemühten is at rank #31,958, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈmyːtn̩].
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 72389, this pair ranks #389,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of bemalten vs bemühten
Shared letters: bemnt. Private to "bemalten": al. Private to "bemühten": hü.
"bemalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "bemühten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- bemalten ← bbemalten · beamlten · bemaletn · bemallten · bemaltenn · bemaltne · bemaltten · bematlen
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bemalten" and "bemühten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "bemalten" or "bemühten"?
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 "bemalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bemühten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #389,732 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bemalten" and "bemühten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "behaltet vs bemalten". 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 #389,732 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.