bezahlvsbezahlteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: bezahl is a verb, bezahlte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bezahl” is a verb and “bezahlte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,481
“bezahl” frequency rank
#10,624
“bezahlte” frequency rank
41105
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bezahl bezahlte
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bezahlen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs bezahlt

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bezahl and bezahlte apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
bezahl
8 ch
bezahlte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

bezahl and bezahlte form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “bezahl” sits inside “bezahlte” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41105, 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]. bezahlte is at rank #10,624, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈt͡saːltə].

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 41105, this pair ranks #1,489,206 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

bezahl#30,481
bezahlte#10,624

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bezahl" and "bezahlte" be used interchangeably?
No, "bezahl" and "bezahlte" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering bezahl vs bezahlte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “bezahl”; for an adjective, it's “bezahlte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “bezahl” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list