befallen

/[bəˈfalən]/ adj

Letters

8 characters

Frequency Rank

#18,489

in German word usage

Misspellings

10

tracked variants

Confusables

15

similar word pairs

befallen is anGermanadj. It means: von etwas betroffen Pronounced [bəˈfalən]. Often confused with bellen and bemalen.

Key facts for befallen
PropertyValue
Headwordbefallen
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdj
IPA[bəˈfalən]
Letters8
Frequency rank#18,489
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

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

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for befallen is 8 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [bəˈfalən]. Corpus data places it at rank #18,489 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "von etwas betroffen".

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 10 documented wrong-spelling variants for befallen, with forms such as "bbefallen", "beafllen", and "befaleln". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "bellen", "bemalen", "bezahlen", 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 befallen, spelled B-E-F-A-L-L-E-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    von etwas betroffen

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: bbefallen,beafllen,befaleln,befalen,befallenn,befallne,beffallen,beflalen,bfeallen,ebfallen

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for befallen

Misspelling Variants of "befallen"

bbefallen9beafllen8befaleln8befalen7befallenn9befallne8beffallen9beflalen8
Misspelling Variants of "befallen"

Frequency rank: #18,489 in German

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "befallen"?
"befallen" is spelled B-E-F-A-L-L-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [bəˈfalən].
What does "befallen" mean?
As an adj, "befallen" means: von etwas betroffen
What words are commonly confused with "befallen"?
"befallen" is commonly confused with "bellen", "bemalen", "bezahlen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "befallen"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "befallen" is [bəˈfalən]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "befallen" come from?
"befallen" 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.