bestellevsbestellenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,534
“bestelle” frequency rank
#3,026
“bestellen” frequency rank
20560
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bestelle bestellen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bestellen eine Ware oder Dienstleistung zur Lieferung in Auftrag geben

Where the eye mixes bestelle and bestellen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. bestelle runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against bestellen's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
bestelle
9 ch
bestellen

Visual trap between bestelle and bestellen

A purely visual mix-up. bestelle ([bəˈʃtɛlə]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “bestelle” sits inside “bestellen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20560, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bestelle is recorded at frequency rank #17,534, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈʃtɛlə]. 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 20560, this pair ranks #1,896,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bestelle vs bestellen

Shared letters: belst. Private to "bestelle": -. Private to "bestellen": n.

"bestelle" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "bestellen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bestelle ← bbestelle · besetlle · besstelle · bestele · bestelel · bestlele · besttelle · betselle
  • bestellen ← bbestellen · besetllen · besstellen · besteleln · bestelen · bestellenn · bestellne · bestlelen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bestelle" for "bestellen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈʃtɛlə] versus [bəˈʃtɛlən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bestelle" vs "bestellen" - which ranks higher?
"bestellen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,026 in our German list, against #17,534 for "bestelle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bestelle" 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 #1,896,290 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bestelle" and "bestellen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bastille vs bestelle". 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 #1,896,290 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