Which to use
“bereisen” and “besessen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,436
- “bereisen” frequency rank
- #11,190
- “besessen” frequency rank
- 51626
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bereisen | besessen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Gegend, ein Land bei Besuchen (Reisen) erkunden | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs besitzen |
Where the eye mixes bereisen and besessen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bereisen (CVCVVCVC) and besessen (CVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses bereisen with besessen
A purely visual mix-up. bereisen ([bəˈʁaɪ̯zn̩]) and besessen ([bəˈzɛsn̩]) 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 51626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bereisen is recorded at frequency rank #40,436, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁaɪ̯zn̩]. besessen is at rank #11,190, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈzɛsn̩].
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 51626, this pair ranks #1,128,366 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bereisen vs besessen
Shared letters: bens. Private to "bereisen": ir. Private to "besessen": -.
"bereisen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "besessen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bereisen" and "besessen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "bereisen" or "besessen" 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 "bereisen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "besessen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,128,366 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bereisen" and "besessen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bereden vs bereisen". 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 #1,128,366 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.