Which to use
“beruhigen” and “beunruhigen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,878
- “beruhigen” frequency rank
- #30,956
- “beunruhigen” frequency rank
- 38834
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beruhigen | beunruhigen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | zur Ruhe bringen; ruhig machen | in Unruhe versetzen |
Where the eye mixes beruhigen and beunruhigen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. beruhigen runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVC) against beunruhigen's 11 (CVVCCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between beruhigen and beunruhigen
A purely visual mix-up. beruhigen ([bəˈʁuːɪɡn̩]) and beunruhigen ([bəˈʔʊnˌʁuːɪɡn̩]) 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 38834, 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]. beunruhigen is at rank #30,956, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʔʊnˌʁuːɪɡn̩].
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 38834, this pair ranks #1,553,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beruhigen vs beunruhigen
Shared letters: beghinru. Private to "beruhigen": -. Private to "beunruhigen": -.
"beruhigen" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC · "beunruhigen" · 11 letters · shape CVVCCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- beruhigen ← bberuhigen · berhuigen · berruhigen · beruhgien · beruhhigen · beruhiegn · beruhigenn · beruhiggen
- beunruhigen ← bbeunruhigen · benuruhigen · beunnruhigen · beunrhuigen · beunrruhigen · beunruhgien · beunruhhigen · beunruhiegn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "beruhigen" and "beunruhigen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "beruhigen" or "beunruhigen"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "beruhigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "beunruhigen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,553,399 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beruhigen" and "beunruhigen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beunruhigen vs beunruhigend". 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 #1,553,399 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.