beruhigenvsberührenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,878
“beruhigen” frequency rank
#6,512
“berühren” frequency rank
14390
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature beruhigen berühren
Definition zur Ruhe bringen; ruhig machen mit dem Äußeren seines Körpers mit einer Sache oder einer Person in Kontakt kommen

Where the spellings diverge

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

9 ch
beruhigen
8 ch
berühren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. beruhigen ([bəˈʁuːɪɡn̩]) and berühren ([bəˈʁyːʁən]) 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 14390, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

beruhigen is recorded at frequency rank #7,878, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁuːɪɡn̩]. berühren is at rank #6,512, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʁyːʁən].

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 14390, this pair ranks #1,951,534 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of beruhigen vs berühren

Shared letters: behnr. Private to "beruhigen": giu. Private to "berühren": ü.

"beruhigen" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC  ·  "berühren" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • beruhigenbberuhigen · berhuigen · berruhigen · beruhgien · beruhhigen · beruhiegn · beruhigenn · beruhiggen

Frequency comparison

beruhigen#7,878
berühren#6,512

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "beruhigen" and "berühren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʁuːɪɡn̩] versus [bəˈʁyːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "beruhigen" or "berühren"?
"berühren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,512 in our German list, against #7,878 for "beruhigen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering beruhigen vs berühren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “beruhigen” 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