betragevsbetrügtConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#38,002
“betrage” frequency rank
#26,780
“betrügt” frequency rank
64782
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature betrage betrügt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs betragen 2. Person Plural Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs betragen

Where the eye mixes betrage and betrügt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. betrage (CVCCVCV) and betrügt (CVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
betrage
7 ch
betrügt

Why the eye confuses betrage with betrügt

A purely visual mix-up. betrage ([bəˈtʁaːɡə]) and betrügt ([bəˈtʁyːkt]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64782, 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]. betrügt is at rank #26,780, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁyːkt].

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 64782, this pair ranks #629,454 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of betrage vs betrügt

Shared letters: begrt. Private to "betrage": a. Private to "betrügt": ü.

"betrage" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "betrügt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "betrage" and "betrügt" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈtʁaːɡə] versus [bəˈtʁyːkt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "betrage" vs "betrügt" - which ranks higher?
"betrügt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,780 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.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "betrage" and "betrügt" 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 "betrügt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #629,454 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "betrage" and "betrügt" 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 #629,454 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