Which to use
“bilden” and “bolzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,625
- “bilden” frequency rank
- #25,080
- “bolzen” frequency rank
- 26705
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bilden | bolzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas zustande kommen, entstehen lassen | etwas ziellos in die Gegend treten, schießen |
Where the eye mixes bilden and bolzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: bilden vs bolzen
A purely visual mix-up. bilden ([ˈbɪldn̩]) and bolzen ([ˈbɔlt͡sn̩]) 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 26705, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bilden is recorded at frequency rank #1,625, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪldn̩]. bolzen is at rank #25,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbɔlt͡sn̩].
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 26705, this pair ranks #1,813,770 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bilden vs bolzen
Shared letters: beln. Private to "bilden": di. Private to "bolzen": oz.
"bilden" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "bolzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bilden" and "bolzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "bilden" or "bolzen" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bilden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bolzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,813,770 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bilden" and "bolzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bolzen vs Bonzen". 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 #1,813,770 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.