bereuenvsbezeugenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,320
“bereuen” frequency rank
#20,865
“bezeugen” frequency rank
34185
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bereuen bezeugen
Definition Reue über etwas empfinden etwas bestätigen, als jemand, der die Umstände kennt (Zeuge ist)

Where the eye mixes bereuen and bezeugen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bereuen runs 7 letters (CVCVVVC) against bezeugen's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
bereuen
8 ch
bezeugen

Look-alike desk: bereuen vs bezeugen

A purely visual mix-up. bereuen ([bəˈʁɔɪ̯ən]) and bezeugen ([bəˈt͡sɔɪ̯ɡn̩]) 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 34185, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bereuen is recorded at frequency rank #13,320, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁɔɪ̯ən]. bezeugen is at rank #20,865, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈt͡sɔɪ̯ɡn̩].

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 34185, this pair ranks #1,669,159 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bereuen vs bezeugen

Shared letters: benu. Private to "bereuen": r. Private to "bezeugen": gz.

"bereuen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC  ·  "bezeugen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bereuen ← bbereuen · beeruen · bereeun · bereuenn · bereune · berreuen · berueen · breeuen
  • bezeugen ← bbezeugen · beezugen · bezeguen · bezeuegn · bezeugenn · bezeuggen · bezeugne · bezuegen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bereuen" and "bezeugen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʁɔɪ̯ən] versus [bəˈt͡sɔɪ̯ɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bereuen" vs "bezeugen" - which ranks higher?
"bereuen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,320 in our German list, against #20,865 for "bezeugen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "bereuen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bezeugen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,669,159 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bereuen" and "bezeugen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "befeuern vs bereuen". 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 #1,669,159 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