Which to use
“bemühen” and “berühren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,041
- “bemühen” frequency rank
- #6,512
- “berühren” frequency rank
- 12553
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bemühen | berühren |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich Mühe geben, sich anstrengen | mit dem Äußeren seines Körpers mit einer Sache oder einer Person in Kontakt kommen |
Where the eye mixes bemühen and berühren
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bemühen runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against berühren's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between bemühen and berühren
A purely visual mix-up. bemühen ([bəˈmyːən]) and berühren ([bəˈʁyːʁən]) 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 12553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bemühen is recorded at frequency rank #6,041, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈmyːən]. berühren is at rank #6,512, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁyːʁən].
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 12553, this pair ranks #1,963,480 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bemühen vs berühren
Shared letters: behnü. Private to "bemühen": m. Private to "berühren": r.
"bemühen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "berühren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bemühen" for "berühren" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "bemühen" or "berühren" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bemühen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "berühren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,963,480 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bemühen" and "berühren" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "berühren vs berührende". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,963,480 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.