bemaltenvsbezahltenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,431
“bemalten” frequency rank
#13,563
“bezahlten” frequency rank
53994
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bemalten bezahlten
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bemalt Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bezahlt

Where the eye mixes bemalten and bezahlten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. bemalten runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against bezahlten's 9 (CVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
bemalten
9 ch
bezahlten

Visual trap between bemalten and bezahlten

A purely visual mix-up. bemalten ([bəˈmaːltn̩]) and bezahlten ([bəˈt͡saːltn̩]) 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 53994, 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]. bezahlten is at rank #13,563, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈt͡saːltn̩].

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 53994, this pair ranks #1,036,196 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bemalten vs bezahlten

Shared letters: abelnt. Private to "bemalten": m. Private to "bezahlten": hz.

"bemalten" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "bezahlten" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bemaltenbbemalten · beamlten · bemaletn · bemallten · bemaltenn · bemaltne · bemaltten · bematlen
  • bezahltenbbezahlten · beazhlten · bezahhlten · bezahletn · bezahllten · bezahltenn · bezahltne · bezahltten

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bemalten" and "bezahlten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈmaːltn̩] versus [bəˈt͡saːltn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bemalten" or "bezahlten"?
"bezahlten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,563 in our German list, against #40,431 for "bemalten". 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 "bemalten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bezahlten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,036,196 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bemalten" and "bezahlten" 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 #1,036,196 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