Which to use
“bestechen” and “bestehen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,471
- “bestechen” frequency rank
- #1,221
- “bestehen” frequency rank
- 26692
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestechen | bestehen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine Gabe an eine Amtsperson überlassen, um diese zur Verletzung ihrer Amtspflicht zu bewegen | erfolgreich absolvieren |
Where the eye mixes bestechen and bestehen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bestechen runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against bestehen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: bestechen vs bestehen
A purely visual mix-up. bestechen ([bəˈʃtɛçn̩]) and bestehen ([bəˈʃteːən]) 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 26692, 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]. bestehen is at rank #1,221, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃteːən].
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 26692, this pair ranks #1,813,969 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestechen vs bestehen
Shared letters: behnst. Private to "bestechen": c. Private to "bestehen": -.
"bestechen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC · "bestehen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bestechen" for "bestehen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bestechen" or "bestehen"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "bestechen" and "bestehen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestechen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestehen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,813,969 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestechen" and "bestehen" 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 #1,813,969 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.