bestellvsbestelleTell them apart

Which to use

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

#18,188
“bestell” frequency rank
#17,534
“bestelle” frequency rank
35722
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bestell bestelle
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bestellen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bestellen

Where the eye mixes bestell and bestelle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. bestell runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against bestelle's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
bestell
8 ch
bestelle

Visual trap between bestell and bestelle

A purely visual mix-up. bestell ([bəˈʃtɛl]) and bestelle ([bəˈʃtɛlə]) 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 extra letter(s) - “bestell” sits inside “bestelle”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35722, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bestell is recorded at frequency rank #18,188, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛl]. bestelle is at rank #17,534, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛlə].

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 35722, this pair ranks #1,633,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bestell vs bestelle

Shared letters: belst. Private to "bestell": -. Private to "bestelle": -.

"bestell" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "bestelle" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bestell ← bbestell · besetll · besstell · bestel · bestlel · besttell · betsell · bsetell
  • bestelle ← bbestelle · besetlle · besstelle · bestele · bestelel · bestlele · besttelle · betselle

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bestell" for "bestelle" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃtɛl] versus [bəˈʃtɛlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bestell" or "bestelle"?
"bestelle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,534 in our German list, against #18,188 for "bestell". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "bestell" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bestelle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,633,139 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bestell" and "bestelle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beseelt vs bestell". 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 #1,633,139 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