behold

[bɪˈhoʊld]

/[bɪˈhoʊld]/ verb

The verdict

“behold” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
6
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - etwas betrachten, anschauen

Corpus desk

Index DE-behold · behold · German

behold · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "B" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for behold
PropertyValue
Headwordbehold
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[bɪˈhoʊld]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „behold“ im Deutschen

beholdliegt außerhalb der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Wörter, im Langschwanz technischer, archaischer oder seltener Formen, genau dort, wo Schreibzweifeln zuschlagen.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

behold is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [bɪˈhoʊld]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "etwas betrachten, anschauen".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for behold, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable German rules. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is behold, spelled B-E-H-O-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    etwas betrachten, anschauen

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how behold appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. "The usurper, who beheld , from the walls of Arles, the ruin of his last hopes, was tempted to place some confidence in so generous a conqueror."

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "behold"?
"behold" is spelled B-E-H-O-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is [bɪˈhoʊld].
What does "behold" mean?
As a verb, "behold" means: etwas betrachten, anschauen
How do you pronounce "behold"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "behold" is [bɪˈhoʊld]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "behold" come from?
"behold" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list