BemühungenvsBerührungenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#5,685
“Bemühungen” frequency rank
#31,460
“Berührungen” frequency rank
37145
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bemühungen Berührungen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Bemühung Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Berührung

Where the eye mixes Bemühungen and Berührungen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. Bemühungen runs 10 letters (CVCVCVCCVC) against Berührungen's 11 (CVCVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

10 ch
Bemühungen
11 ch
Berührungen

Visual trap between Bemühungen and Berührungen

A purely visual mix-up. Bemühungen ([bəˈmyːʊŋən]) and Berührungen ([bəˈʁyːʁʊŋən]) 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 37145, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bemühungen is recorded at frequency rank #5,685, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈmyːʊŋən]. Berührungen is at rank #31,460, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʁyːʁʊŋən].

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 37145, this pair ranks #1,597,676 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Bemühungen vs Berührungen

Shared letters: beghnuü. Private to "Bemühungen": m. Private to "Berührungen": r.

"Bemühungen" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVC  ·  "Berührungen" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Bemühungen" and "Berührungen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈmyːʊŋən] versus [bəˈʁyːʁʊŋən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Bemühungen" or "Berührungen" show up more?
"Bemühungen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,685 in our German list, against #31,460 for "Berührungen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Bemühungen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Berührungen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,597,676 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Bemühungen" and "Berührungen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Berührung vs Berührungen". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,597,676 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