bezahlevsbezahltConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,316
“bezahle” frequency rank
#1,623
“bezahlt” frequency rank
16939
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bezahle bezahlt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs bezahlen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs bezahlen

Where the eye mixes bezahle and bezahlt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. bezahle (CVCVCCV) and bezahlt (CVCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
bezahle
7 ch
bezahlt

Visual trap between bezahle and bezahlt

A purely visual mix-up. bezahle ([bəˈt͡saːlə]) and bezahlt ([bəˈt͡saːlt]) 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 a single letter - e in “bezahle” becomes t in “bezahlt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16939, 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]. bezahlt is at rank #1,623, tagged as averb, pronounced [bəˈt͡saːlt].

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 16939, this pair ranks #1,931,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bezahle vs bezahlt

Shared letters: abehlz. Private to "bezahle": -. Private to "bezahlt": t.

"bezahle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "bezahlt" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bezahle ← bbezahle · beazhle · bezahel · bezahhle · bezahlle · bezalhe · bezhale · bezzahle
  • bezahlt ← bbezahlt · beazhlt · bezahhlt · bezahllt · bezahltt · bezahtl · bezalht · bezhalt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bezahle" for "bezahlt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([bəˈt͡saːlə] versus [bəˈt͡saːlt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "bezahle" vs "bezahlt" - which ranks higher?
"bezahlt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,623 in our German list, against #15,316 for "bezahle". 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 "bezahlt" 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 "bezahlt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,931,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bezahle" and "bezahlt" 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 #1,931,766 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