Which to use
“beten” and “breiten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,017
- “beten” frequency rank
- #3,429
- “breiten” frequency rank
- 10446
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beten | breiten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gott anrufen, zu Gott sprechen | etwas Zusammengelegtes, das wenig Platz einnimmt, auseinandernehmen und mehr Platz einnehmen lassen |
Where the eye mixes beten and breiten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. beten runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against breiten's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses beten with breiten
A purely visual mix-up. beten ([ˈbeːtn̩]) and breiten ([ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beten is recorded at frequency rank #7,017, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbeːtn̩]. breiten is at rank #3,429, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbʁaɪ̯tn̩].
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 10446, this pair ranks #1,975,093 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beten vs breiten
Shared letters: bent. Private to "beten": -. Private to "breiten": ir.
"beten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "breiten" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "beten" for "breiten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "beten" or "breiten" show up more?
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 "beten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "breiten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,975,093 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beten" and "breiten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Bestien vs beten". 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 #1,975,093 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.