Which to use
“beben” and “blieben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,524
- “beben” frequency rank
- #2,757
- “blieben” frequency rank
- 20281
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | beben | blieben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | stark erzittern | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bleiben |
Where the eye mixes beben and blieben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. beben runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against blieben's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses beben with blieben
A purely visual mix-up. beben ([ˈbeːbn̩]) and blieben ([ˈbliːbn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20281, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
beben is recorded at frequency rank #17,524, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈbeːbn̩]. blieben is at rank #2,757, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbliːbn̩].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 20281, this pair ranks #1,899,394 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of beben vs blieben
Shared letters: ben. Private to "beben": -. Private to "blieben": il.
"beben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "blieben" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "beben" and "blieben" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "beben" vs "blieben" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "beben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "blieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,899,394 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "beben" and "blieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "beben vs Bibeln". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,899,394 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.