befehlen
German, verb
befehlen is spelled B-E-F-E-H-L-E-N (8 letters) and appears 3.1 times per million words in written German, the 17,543rd most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Befehlen is a German verb meaning “to command; to order (someone to do something)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Befehlen is a different word: “gerund of befehlen”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “einen bindenden Auftrag erteilen, etwas Bestimmtes genau befolgend auszuführen”.
What does befehlen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to command; to order (someone to do something)
- 2
to give orders; to be in command
- 3
datedto entrust
noun
- 1
neutergerund of befehlen
noun
- 1
masculinedative plural of Befehl
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. einen bindenden Auftrag erteilen, etwas Bestimmtes genau befolgend auszuführen 2. belieben, wünschen 3. durch (militärischen) Order an einem bestimmten Ort kommen lassen 4. die Befugnis besitzen, Befehle zu erteilen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of befehlen
- befiehlt present singular third-person
- befahl past
- befohlen participle past
- befähle past subjunctive
- beföhle past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- 4 strong
- befehlend participle present
- befehle first-person indicative present
- befiehlst indicative present second-person
- befehlt indicative plural present
- befehlest second-person singular subjunctive
- befehlet plural second-person subjunctive
- befahlen first-person indicative plural
- befählen first-person formal plural
- beföhlen first-person formal plural
- befahlst indicative preterite second-person
- befahlt indicative plural preterite
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to befehlen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is befehlen in German?
befehlen appears 3.1 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).