bezahlvsbezahlstTell them apart

Which to use

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

#30,481
“bezahl” frequency rank
#23,057
“bezahlst” frequency rank
53538
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bezahl bezahlst
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bezahlen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bezahlen

Where the eye mixes bezahl and bezahlst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
bezahl
8 ch
bezahlst

Why the eye confuses bezahl with bezahlst

A purely visual mix-up. bezahl ([bəˈt͡saːl]) and bezahlst ([bəˈt͡saːlst]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “bezahl” sits inside “bezahlst”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53538, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bezahl is recorded at frequency rank #30,481, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈt͡saːl]. bezahlst is at rank #23,057, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈt͡saːlst].

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 53538, this pair ranks #1,054,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bezahl vs bezahlst

Shared letters: abehlz. Private to "bezahl": -. Private to "bezahlst": st.

"bezahl" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "bezahlst" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bezahlbbezahl · beazhl · bezahhl · bezahll · bezalh · bezhal · bezzahl · bzeahl
  • bezahlstbbezahlst · beazhlst · bezahhlst · bezahllst · bezahlsst · bezahlstt · bezahlts · bezahslt

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bezahl" and "bezahlst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈt͡saːl] versus [bəˈt͡saːlst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "bezahl" or "bezahlst" show up more?
"bezahlst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,057 in our German list, against #30,481 for "bezahl". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bezahl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bezahlst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,054,036 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bezahl" and "bezahlst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bejaht vs bezahl". 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 #1,054,036 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