betragenvsbetreuenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,515
“betragen” frequency rank
#12,678
“betreuen” frequency rank
19193
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature betragen betreuen
Definition einen Wert, eine zahlenmäßige Größe, einen Geldbetrag darstellen, ausmachen, umfassen jemanden versorgen, beaufsichtigen und sich um dessen Belange kümmern, da diese Person dies selbst nicht (mehr) kann

Where the eye mixes betragen and betreuen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. betragen (CVCCVCVC) and betreuen (CVCCVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
betragen
8 ch
betreuen

Why the eye confuses betragen with betreuen

A purely visual mix-up. betragen ([bəˈtʁaːɡn̩]) and betreuen ([bəˈtʁɔɪ̯ən]) 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 19193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

betragen is recorded at frequency rank #6,515, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁaːɡn̩]. betreuen is at rank #12,678, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈtʁɔɪ̯ən].

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 19193, this pair ranks #1,910,882 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of betragen vs betreuen

Shared letters: benrt. Private to "betragen": ag. Private to "betreuen": u.

"betragen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "betreuen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • betragenbbetragen · bertagen · betargen · betraegn · betragenn · betraggen · betragne · betrgaen
  • betreuenbbetreuen · berteuen · beteruen · betreeun · betreuenn · betreune · betrreuen · betrueen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "betragen" and "betreuen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈtʁaːɡn̩] versus [bəˈtʁɔɪ̯ən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "betragen" or "betreuen" show up more?
"betragen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,515 in our German list, against #12,678 for "betreuen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "betragen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "betreuen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,910,882 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "betragen" and "betreuen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "betrete vs betreuen". 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 #1,910,882 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