gebliebenvsgeriebenTell them apart

Which to use

“geblieben” and “gerieben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,026
“geblieben” frequency rank
#41,194
“gerieben” frequency rank
43220
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature geblieben gerieben
Definition Partizip Perfekt des Verbs bleiben Partizip Perfekt des Verbs reiben

Where the eye mixes geblieben and gerieben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. geblieben runs 9 letters (CVCCVVCVC) against gerieben's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
geblieben
8 ch
gerieben

Look-alike desk: geblieben vs gerieben

A purely visual mix-up. geblieben ([ɡəˈbliːbn̩]) and gerieben ([ɡəˈʁiːbn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43220, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

geblieben is recorded at frequency rank #2,026, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈbliːbn̩]. gerieben is at rank #41,194, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʁiːbn̩].

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 43220, this pair ranks #1,424,963 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of geblieben vs gerieben

Shared letters: begin. Private to "geblieben": l. Private to "gerieben": r.

"geblieben" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC  ·  "gerieben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • geblieben ← egblieben · gbelieben · gebblieben · gebileben · gebleiben · geblibeen · gebliebben · gebliebenn
  • gerieben ← egrieben · geireben · gereiben · geribeen · geriebben · geriebenn · geriebne · gerieebn

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "geblieben" for "gerieben" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ɡəˈbliːbn̩] versus [ɡəˈʁiːbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "geblieben" vs "gerieben" - which ranks higher?
"geblieben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,026 in our German list, against #41,194 for "gerieben". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "geblieben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gerieben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,424,963 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "geblieben" and "gerieben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gerieben vs Gorleben". 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 #1,424,963 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list