Which to use
“Dieb” and “Dieben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,700
- “Dieb” frequency rank
- #36,880
- “Dieben” frequency rank
- 46580
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Dieb | Dieben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemand, der stiehlt, der eines anderen Eigentum wegnimmt | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Dieb |
Where the eye mixes Dieb and Dieben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Dieb vs Dieben
A purely visual mix-up. Dieb ([diːp]) and Dieben ([ˈdiːbn̩]) 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) - “Dieb” sits inside “Dieben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46580, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Dieb is recorded at frequency rank #9,700, classified as anoun, pronounced [diːp]. Dieben is at rank #36,880, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈdiːbn̩].
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 46580, this pair ranks #1,314,216 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Dieb vs Dieben
Shared letters: bdei. Private to "Dieb": -. Private to "Dieben": n.
"Dieb" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Dieben" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Dieb" and "Dieben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Dieb" or "Dieben" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Dieb" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Dieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,314,216 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Dieb" and "Dieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dieben vs dissen". 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 #1,314,216 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.