Which to use
“bestechen” and “bestehe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,471
- “bestechen” frequency rank
- #10,052
- “bestehe” frequency rank
- 35523
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestechen | bestehe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Gabe an eine Amtsperson überlassen, um diese zur Verletzung ihrer Amtspflicht zu bewegen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bestehen |
Where the eye mixes bestechen and bestehe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. bestechen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against bestehe's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between bestechen and bestehe
A purely visual mix-up. bestechen ([bəˈʃtɛçn̩]) and bestehe ([bəˈʃteːə]) 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 35523, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bestechen is recorded at frequency rank #25,471, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛçn̩]. bestehe is at rank #10,052, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃteːə].
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 35523, this pair ranks #1,637,951 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestechen vs bestehe
Shared letters: behst. Private to "bestechen": cn. Private to "bestehe": -.
"bestechen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "bestehe" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bestechen" and "bestehe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "bestechen" or "bestehe"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestehe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,637,951 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestechen" and "bestehe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bestechen vs bestochen". 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 #1,637,951 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.