biegenvsborgenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#15,049
“biegen” frequency rank
#46,534
“borgen” frequency rank
61583
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature biegen borgen
Definition einen Gegenstand so verformen, dass sich die Krümmung des Gegenstands ändert leihen, verleihen, etwas gegen Versprechen hergeben, jemandem vorübergehend etwas geben

Where the eye mixes biegen and borgen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. biegen (CVVCVC) and borgen (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
biegen
6 ch
borgen

Look-alike desk: biegen vs borgen

A purely visual mix-up. biegen ([ˈbiːɡn̩]) and borgen ([ˈbɔʁɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61583, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

biegen is recorded at frequency rank #15,049, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbiːɡn̩]. borgen is at rank #46,534, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɔʁɡn̩].

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 61583, this pair ranks #744,335 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of biegen vs borgen

Shared letters: begn. Private to "biegen": i. Private to "borgen": or.

"biegen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "borgen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • biegen ← bbiegen · beigen · bieegn · biegenn · bieggen · biegne · bigeen · ibegen
  • borgen ← bborgen · bogren · boregn · borgenn · borggen · borgne · borrgen · brogen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "biegen" and "borgen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbiːɡn̩] versus [ˈbɔʁɡn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "biegen" or "borgen" show up more?
"biegen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,049 in our German list, against #46,534 for "borgen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "biegen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "borgen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #744,335 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "biegen" and "borgen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "borgen vs Borneo". 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 #744,335 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