BestechungvsBestellungConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#20,861
“Bestechung” frequency rank
#6,047
“Bestellung” frequency rank
26908
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Bestechung Bestellung
Definition Vorteilsgewährung an Amtsträger mit zu erwartender Gegenleistung Anforderung eines Produkts oder einer Dienstleistung

Where the eye mixes Bestechung and Bestellung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. Bestechung and Bestellung follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
Bestechung
10 ch
Bestellung

Look-alike desk: Bestechung vs Bestellung

A purely visual mix-up. Bestechung ([bəˈʃtɛçʊŋ]) and Bestellung ([bəˈʃtɛlʊŋ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26908, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Bestechung is recorded at frequency rank #20,861, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛçʊŋ]. Bestellung is at rank #6,047, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛlʊŋ].

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 26908, this pair ranks #1,810,415 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Bestechung vs Bestellung

Shared letters: begnstu. Private to "Bestechung": ch. Private to "Bestellung": l.

"Bestechung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC  ·  "Bestellung" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Bestechung ← bbestechung · besetchung · besstechung · bestcehung · bestecchung · bestechhung · bestechnug · bestechugn
  • Bestellung ← bbestellung · besetllung · besstellung · bestellnug · bestellugn · bestellungg · bestellunng · bestelulng

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Bestechung" for "Bestellung" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃtɛçʊŋ] versus [bəˈʃtɛlʊŋ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Bestechung" vs "Bestellung" - which ranks higher?
"Bestellung" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,047 in our German list, against #20,861 for "Bestechung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Bestechung" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Bestellung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,810,415 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Bestechung" and "Bestellung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bestechen vs Bestechung". 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 #1,810,415 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