befehlen
[bəˈfeːlən]
The verdict
“befehlen” has 12 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #17,525. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #17,525
- frequency rank, German
- 5,818
- “B” headwords
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 13
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - einen bindenden Auftrag erteilen, etwas Bestimmtes genau befolgend auszuführen
Corpus desk
Index DE-befehlen · befehlen · German
befehlen · rank #17,525 · 12 variants · 13 confusables
- FREQ-MID #17,525
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
- VAR-MID 12 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,818
- PHOTO-FINISH beben
Nearest frequency peer: beben (-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 “befehlen”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- Bataillon
Bataillon
82,479 corpus weight
- bauliche
bauliche
82,478 corpus weight
- beben
beben
82,477 corpus weight
- befehlen
befehlen
82,476 corpus weight
- befolgt
befolgt
82,475 corpus weight
- belangen
belangen
82,473 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “befehlen” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | befehlen |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | [bəˈfeːlən] |
| Letters | 8 |
| Frequency rank | #17,525 |
| Misspellings tracked | 12 |
| Confusable pairs | 13 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “befehlen” sits in German frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 12 spelling variants around befehlen (IPA [bəˈfeːlən]), averb. Corpus frequency is #17,525 among 5,818 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for befehlen, with forms such as "bbefehlen", "beefhlen", and "befeheln". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "begehen", "bezahlen", "benehmen", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is befehlen, spelled B-E-F-E-H-L-E-N.
Definition
- 1einen bindenden Auftrag erteilen, etwas Bestimmtes genau befolgend auszuführen
- 2belieben, wünschen
- 3durch (militärischen) Order an einem bestimmten Ort kommen lassen
- 4die Befugnis besitzen, Befehle zu erteilen
- 5vertrauensvoll übergeben, überlassen; sich voller Vertrauen offenbaren
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how befehlen appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
„Eine Antwort, die an Deutlichkeit nichts zu wünschen übrig läßt, Frau Marquise: / »Ich bin weder eine Puppe, die Sie dirigieren, noch Ihre Dienerin, der Sie befehlen können.«“
„Ihr braucht uns nichts zu befehlen, denn wir gehorchen euch nicht mehr.“
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- bbefehlen
- beefhlen
- befeheln
- befehhlen
- befehlenn
- befehllen
- befehlne
- befelhen
- beffehlen
- befhelen
- bfeehlen
- ebfehlen
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of befehlen - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "befehlen"?
What does "befehlen" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "befehlen"?
How do you pronounce "befehlen"?
What language does "befehlen" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar German words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "befehlen", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked German headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "befehlen". Here's where to go from here.
- "befehlen" maps to 13 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "begehen". View pair
- 12 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #17,525 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.