Which to use
“bestell” and “bestellen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,188
- “bestell” frequency rank
- #3,026
- “bestellen” frequency rank
- 21214
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bestell | bestellen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bestellen | eine Ware oder Dienstleistung zur Lieferung in Auftrag geben |
Where the eye mixes bestell and bestellen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. bestell runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against bestellen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between bestell and bestellen
A purely visual mix-up. bestell ([bəˈʃtɛl]) and bestellen ([bəˈʃtɛlən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “bestell” sits inside “bestellen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21214, 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]. bestellen is at rank #3,026, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛlən].
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 21214, this pair ranks #1,888,897 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bestell vs bestellen
Shared letters: belst. Private to "bestell": -. Private to "bestellen": n.
"bestell" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "bestellen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bestell" for "bestellen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bestell" or "bestellen"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bestell" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bestellen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,888,897 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bestell" and "bestellen" 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 #1,888,897 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.