Which to use
“bezahle” and “bezahlen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,316
- “bezahle” frequency rank
- #1,469
- “bezahlen” frequency rank
- 16785
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bezahle | bezahlen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bezahlen | jemandem für etwas einen bestimmten Geldbetrag geben |
Where the eye mixes bezahle and bezahlen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. bezahle runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against bezahlen's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between bezahle and bezahlen
A purely visual mix-up. bezahle ([bəˈt͡saːlə]) and bezahlen ([bəˈt͡saːlən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “bezahle” sits inside “bezahlen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16785, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bezahle is recorded at frequency rank #15,316, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈt͡saːlə]. bezahlen is at rank #1,469, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈt͡saːlən].
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 16785, this pair ranks #1,933,006 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bezahle vs bezahlen
Shared letters: abehlz. Private to "bezahle": -. Private to "bezahlen": n.
"bezahle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "bezahlen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bezahle" and "bezahlen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "bezahle" or "bezahlen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bezahle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bezahlen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,933,006 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bezahle" and "bezahlen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bezahle vs bezahlter". 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 #1,933,006 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.