befehlen
[bəˈfeːlən]
The verdict
“befehlen” is a moderately-common German word, ranked #17,525 in German word frequency and used as a verb.
- #17,525
- frequency rank, German
- 8
- letters
- 12
- tracked misspellings
- 13
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - einen bindenden Auftrag erteilen, etwas Bestimmtes genau befolgend auszuführen
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
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for befehlen is 8 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [bəˈfeːlən]. Corpus data places it at rank #17,525 in overall German word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
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.
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?
Using “befehlen”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is B-E-F-E-H-L-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [bəˈfeːlən] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “begehen” - see the side-by-side comparison. befehlen vs begehen
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
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.