befall

/[bəˈfal]/ verb

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#29,953

in German word usage

Misspellings

7

tracked variants

Confusables

11

similar word pairs

befall is aGermanverb. It means: 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs befallen Pronounced [bəˈfal]. Often confused with bell and befand.

Key facts for befall
PropertyValue
Headwordbefall
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[bəˈfal]
Letters6
Frequency rank#29,953
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of befall in German word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for befall is 6 letters long, classified as averb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [bəˈfal]. Corpus data places it at rank #29,953 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs befallen".

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 7 documented wrong-spelling variants for befall, with forms such as "bbefall", "beafll", and "befal". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "bell", "befand", "Befehl", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is befall, spelled B-E-F-A-L-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs befallen

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbefall,beafll,befal,beffall,beflal,bfeall,ebfall

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for befall

Misspelling Variants of "befall"

bbefall7beafll6befal5beffall7beflal6bfeall6ebfall6
Misspelling Variants of "befall"

Frequency rank: #29,953 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "befall"?
"befall" is spelled B-E-F-A-L-L. The IPA pronunciation is [bəˈfal].
What does "befall" mean?
As a verb, "befall" means: 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs befallen
What words are commonly confused with "befall"?
"befall" is commonly confused with "bell", "befand", "Befehl". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "befall"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "befall" is [bəˈfal]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "befall" come from?
"befall" 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.

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter B in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.