beruhenvsberuhigenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,430
“beruhen” frequency rank
#7,878
“beruhigen” frequency rank
18308
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beruhen beruhigen
Definition auf etwas fußen, sich auf etwas stützen, in etwas begründet sein zur Ruhe bringen; ruhig machen

Where the eye mixes beruhen and beruhigen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. beruhen runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against beruhigen's 9 (CVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
beruhen
9 ch
beruhigen

Look-alike desk: beruhen vs beruhigen

A purely visual mix-up. beruhen ([bəˈʁuːən]) and beruhigen ([bəˈʁuːɪɡn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18308, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beruhen is recorded at frequency rank #10,430, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁuːən]. beruhigen is at rank #7,878, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁuːɪɡn̩].

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 18308, this pair ranks #1,919,484 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beruhen vs beruhigen

Shared letters: behnru. Private to "beruhen": -. Private to "beruhigen": gi.

"beruhen" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "beruhigen" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beruhen ← bberuhen · berhuen · berruhen · beruehn · beruhenn · beruhhen · beruhne · beurhen
  • beruhigen ← bberuhigen · berhuigen · berruhigen · beruhgien · beruhhigen · beruhiegn · beruhigenn · beruhiggen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "beruhen" and "beruhigen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʁuːən] versus [bəˈʁuːɪɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "beruhen" or "beruhigen"?
"beruhigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,878 in our German list, against #10,430 for "beruhen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "beruhen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "beruhigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,919,484 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "beruhen" and "beruhigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beruhen vs berührten". 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 #1,919,484 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