Which to use
“blieb” and “blieben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #987
- “blieb” frequency rank
- #2,757
- “blieben” frequency rank
- 3744
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blieb | blieben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bleiben | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs bleiben |
Where the eye mixes blieb and blieben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses blieb with blieben
A purely visual mix-up. blieb ([bliːp]) 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 extra letter(s) - “blieb” sits inside “blieben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3744, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
blieb is recorded at frequency rank #987, classified as averb, pronounced [bliːp]. 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 3744, this pair ranks #1,999,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of blieb vs blieben
Shared letters: beil. Private to "blieb": -. Private to "blieben": n.
"blieb" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "blieben" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "blieb" and "blieben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "blieb" or "blieben"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "blieb" 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 #1,999,472 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "blieb" and "blieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bleu vs blieb". 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 #1,999,472 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.