beraubenvsberufenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: berauben is a verb, berufen is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“berauben” is a verb and “berufen” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,473
“berauben” frequency rank
#3,563
“berufen” frequency rank
34036
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature berauben berufen
Definition jemandem etwas, gegebenenfalls auch unter Androhung von Gewalt, wegnehmen besonders/mehr als andere fähig/geeignet für Aufgabe oder Amt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set berauben and berufen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
berauben
7 ch
berufen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

berauben and berufen form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

berauben is recorded at frequency rank #30,473, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁaʊ̯bn̩]. berufen is at rank #3,563, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈʁuːfn̩].

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 34036, this pair ranks #1,672,429 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

berauben#30,473
berufen#3,563

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "berauben" and "berufen" be used interchangeably?
No, "berauben" and "berufen" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering berauben vs berufen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “berauben”; for an adjective, it's “berufen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “berauben” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list