entbehrenvsentbehrtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,745
“entbehren” frequency rank
#38,077
“entbehrt” frequency rank
73822
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entbehren entbehrt
Definition das Nichtvorhandensein einer Person beziehungsweise einer Sache als persönlichen Mangel empfindend erdulden müssen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs entbehren

Where the eye mixes entbehren and entbehrt

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

9 ch
entbehren
8 ch
entbehrt

Why the eye confuses entbehren with entbehrt

A purely visual mix-up. entbehren ([ɛntˈbeːʁən]) and entbehrt ([ɛntˈbeːɐ̯t]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73822, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entbehren is recorded at frequency rank #35,745, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈbeːʁən]. entbehrt is at rank #38,077, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈbeːɐ̯t].

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 73822, this pair ranks #350,067 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of entbehren vs entbehrt

Shared letters: behnrt. Private to "entbehren": -. Private to "entbehrt": -.

"entbehren" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVC  ·  "entbehrt" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entbehren ← enbtehren · enntbehren · entbbehren · entbehern · entbehhren · entbehrenn · entbehrne · entbehrren
  • entbehrt ← enbtehrt · enntbehrt · entbbehrt · entbehhrt · entbehrrt · entbehrtt · entbehtr · entberht

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entbehren" and "entbehrt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ɛntˈbeːʁən] versus [ɛntˈbeːɐ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "entbehren" vs "entbehrt" - which ranks higher?
"entbehren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,745 in our German list, against #38,077 for "entbehrt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "entbehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "entbehrt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #350,067 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entbehren" and "entbehrt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "entbehren vs entleeren". 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 #350,067 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