billigenvsBilligungWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: billigen is a verb, Billigung is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“billigen” is a verb and “Billigung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,338
“billigen” frequency rank
#41,080
“Billigung” frequency rank
50418
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature billigen Billigung
Definition etwas befürworten, begrüßen, gutheißen zustimmende Haltung gegenüber einem Verhalten; Einverständnis

Where the eye mixes billigen and Billigung

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. billigen runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against Billigung's 9 (CVCCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
billigen
9 ch
Billigung

Look-alike desk: billigen vs Billigung

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: billigen is [ˈbɪlɪɡn̩] while Billigung is [ˈbɪlɪɡʊŋ]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

billigen is recorded at frequency rank #9,338, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbɪlɪɡn̩]. Billigung is at rank #41,080, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbɪlɪɡʊŋ].

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 50418, this pair ranks #1,174,420 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of billigen vs Billigung

Shared letters: bgiln. Private to "billigen": e. Private to "Billigung": u.

"billigen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "Billigung" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • billigen ← bbilligen · biligen · bililgen · billgien · billiegn · billigenn · billiggen · billigne
  • Billigung ← bbilligung · biligung · bililgung · billgiung · billiggung · billignug · billigugn · billigungg

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "billigen" and "Billigung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "billigen" is a verb and "Billigung" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "billigen" or "Billigung" show up more?
"billigen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,338 in our German list, against #41,080 for "Billigung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "billigen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Billigung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,174,420 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "billigen" and "Billigung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "billigend vs Billigung". 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 #1,174,420 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