Which to use
“beträgt” is an unknown and “betrügt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,656
- “beträgt” frequency rank
- #26,780
- “betrügt” frequency rank
- 28436
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beträgt | betrügt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv von betragen | 2. Person Plural Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs betragen |
Where the eye mixes beträgt and betrügt
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. beträgt and betrügt follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses beträgt with betrügt
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: beträgt is [bəˈtʁɛːkt] while betrügt is [bəˈtʁyːkt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - ä in “beträgt” becomes ü in “betrügt”, and the parts of speech differ too (unknown vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beträgt is recorded at frequency rank #1,656, classified as anunknown, pronounced [bəˈtʁɛːkt]. 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 28436, this pair ranks #1,784,792 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beträgt vs betrügt
Shared letters: begrt. Private to "beträgt": ä. Private to "betrügt": ü.
"beträgt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "betrügt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "beträgt" and "betrügt" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "beträgt" or "betrügt"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "beträgt" 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 #1,784,792 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beträgt" and "betrügt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beitrug vs betrügt". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,784,792 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.