bezahlevsbezahlstTell them apart

Which to use

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

#15,316
“bezahle” frequency rank
#23,057
“bezahlst” frequency rank
38373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bezahle bezahlst
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bezahlen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bezahlen

Where the eye mixes bezahle and bezahlst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bezahle runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against bezahlst's 8 (CVCVCCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
bezahle
8 ch
bezahlst

Look-alike desk: bezahle vs bezahlst

A purely visual mix-up. bezahle ([bəˈt͡saːlə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38373, 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]. 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 38373, this pair ranks #1,565,686 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bezahle vs bezahlst

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

"bezahle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "bezahlst" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bezahle ← bbezahle · beazhle · bezahel · bezahhle · bezahlle · bezalhe · bezhale · bezzahle
  • bezahlst ← bbezahlst · beazhlst · bezahhlst · bezahllst · bezahlsst · bezahlstt · bezahlts · bezahslt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bezahle" for "bezahlst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈt͡saːlə] versus [bəˈt͡saːlst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "bezahle" or "bezahlst"?
"bezahle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,316 in our German list, against #23,057 for "bezahlst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "bezahle" and "bezahlst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bezahle" 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 #1,565,686 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bezahle" and "bezahlst" 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 #1,565,686 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