BetrügervsBetrugsWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,054
“Betrüger” frequency rank
#33,474
“Betrugs” frequency rank
43528
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Betrüger Betrugs
Definition Person, die andere täuscht, um sich einen Vorteil zu verschaffen; jemand, der betrügt Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Betrug

Where the eye mixes Betrüger and Betrugs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Betrüger runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against Betrugs's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
Betrüger
7 ch
Betrugs

Visual trap between Betrüger and Betrugs

A purely visual mix-up. Betrüger ([bəˈtʁyːɡɐ]) and Betrugs ([bəˈtʁuːks]) 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 43528, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Betrüger is recorded at frequency rank #10,054, classified as anoun, pronounced [bəˈtʁyːɡɐ]. Betrugs is at rank #33,474, tagged as anoun, pronounced [bəˈtʁuːks].

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 43528, this pair ranks #1,415,231 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Betrüger vs Betrugs

Shared letters: begrt. Private to "Betrüger": ü. Private to "Betrugs": su.

"Betrüger" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "Betrugs" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Betrugsbbetrugs · bertugs · betrgus · betrrugs · betruggs · betrugss · betrusg · bettrugs

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Betrüger" and "Betrugs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈtʁyːɡɐ] versus [bəˈtʁuːks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Betrüger" vs "Betrugs" - which ranks higher?
"Betrüger" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,054 in our German list, against #33,474 for "Betrugs". 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 "Betrüger" and "Betrugs" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Betrüger" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Betrugs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,415,231 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Betrüger" and "Betrugs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Betrages vs Betrugs". 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 #1,415,231 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