Which to use
“bezahlen” is a verb and “bezahlter” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,469
- “bezahlen” frequency rank
- #43,064
- “bezahlter” frequency rank
- 44533
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bezahlen | bezahlter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem für etwas einen bestimmten Geldbetrag geben | Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs bezahlt |
Where the eye mixes bezahlen and bezahlter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. bezahlen runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against bezahlter's 9 (CVCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between bezahlen and bezahlter
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bezahlen is [bəˈt͡saːlən] while bezahlter is [bəˈt͡saːltɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bezahlen is recorded at frequency rank #1,469, classified as averb, pronounced [bəˈt͡saːlən]. bezahlter is at rank #43,064, tagged as anadj, pronounced [bəˈt͡saːltɐ].
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 44533, this pair ranks #1,383,127 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of bezahlen vs bezahlter
Shared letters: abehlz. Private to "bezahlen": n. Private to "bezahlter": rt.
"bezahlen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "bezahlter" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "bezahlen" and "bezahlter" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "bezahlen" or "bezahlter" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "bezahlen" and "bezahlter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "bezahlen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bezahlter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,383,127 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bezahlen" and "bezahlter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bewährter 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 #1,383,127 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.