betragevsbetrügenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#38,002
“betrage” frequency rank
#17,830
“betrügen” frequency rank
55832
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature betrage betrügen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs betragen jemandem absichtlich und böswillig die Unwahrheit sagen

Where the eye mixes betrage and betrügen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. betrage runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against betrügen's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
betrage
8 ch
betrügen

Look-alike desk: betrage vs betrügen

A purely visual mix-up. betrage ([bəˈtʁaːɡə]) and betrügen ([bəˈtʁyːɡn̩]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55832, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

betrage is recorded at frequency rank #38,002, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁaːɡə]. betrügen is at rank #17,830, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁyːɡn̩].

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 55832, this pair ranks #963,914 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of betrage vs betrügen

Shared letters: begrt. Private to "betrage": a. Private to "betrügen": .

"betrage" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "betrügen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • betragebbetrage · bertage · betarge · betraeg · betragge · betrgae · betrrage · bettrage

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "betrage" for "betrügen" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈtʁaːɡə] versus [bəˈtʁyːɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "betrage" vs "betrügen" - which ranks higher?
"betrügen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,830 in our German list, against #38,002 for "betrage". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "betrage" and "betrügen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "betrage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "betrügen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #963,914 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "betrage" and "betrügen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "betrage vs betrete". 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 #963,914 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