be

[biː]

/[biː]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“be” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #1,621) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#1,621
frequency rank, German
5,818
“B” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - sein, existieren

Corpus desk

Index DE-be · be · German

be · rank #1,621 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,621
  • LEN-SHORT 2 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,818
  • PHOTO-FINISH befinden

Nearest frequency peer: befinden (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “be”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “be” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

be vs by
50% similar
be vs Br
0% similar
be vs Bi
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for be
PropertyValue
Headwordbe
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[biː]
Letters2
Frequency rank#1,621
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “be” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.beliegt hier:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „befinden“ (#1,622), „wohnen“ (#1,619), „bezahlt“ (#1,623). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for be is neighbouring look-alikes ("by", "Br", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced [biː]. Frequency #1,621 among 5,818 “B” headwords. 13 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

be has no tracked misspelling variants, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "Br", "Bi", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is be, spelled B-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    sein, existieren
  2. 2
    sich in einer bestimmten, betonten Weise verhalten, sein (existieren)
  3. 3
    sein
  4. 4
    sein
  5. 5
    sein, sich (am genannten Ort) befinden
  6. 6
    stattfinden, geschehen
  7. 7
    sein, werden
  8. 8
    sein, haben
  9. 9
    sein
  10. 10
    in Verbindung mit einem Infinitiv mitto werden, sollen; zu tun haben (besonders um Bestimmung (Schicksal) oder Pflicht zu betonen)
  11. 11
    kosten
  12. 12
    normalerweise mitfrom stammen, kommen (aus)
  13. 13
    alsbeen,mit Formen vonhave besuchen

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how be appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „To be, or not to be, that is the question.“
  2. Are you over there?

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "be"?
"be" is spelled B-E. The IPA pronunciation is [biː].
What does "be" mean?
As a verb, "be" means: sein, existieren
What words are commonly confused with "be"?
"be" is commonly confused with "by", "Br", "Bi". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "be"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "be" is [biː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "be" come from?
"be" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

What to do next

You've looked up "be". Here's where to go from here.

  • "be" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "by". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #1,621 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "B" letter cohort. B–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list