gelbevsGewebeConfusable pair

Quick tell: gelbe is a adjective, Gewebe is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gelbe” is an adjective and “Gewebe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,990
“gelbe” frequency rank
#9,206
“Gewebe” frequency rank
14196
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gelbe Gewebe
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs gelb auf einem Webstuhl hergestelltes Tuch, hergestellter Stoff

Where the eye mixes gelbe and Gewebe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
gelbe
6 ch
Gewebe

Look-alike desk: gelbe vs Gewebe

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gelbe is [ˈɡɛlbə] while Gewebe is [ɡəˈveːbə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14196, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gelbe is recorded at frequency rank #4,990, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡɛlbə]. Gewebe is at rank #9,206, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɡəˈveːbə].

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 14196, this pair ranks #1,952,919 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of gelbe vs Gewebe

Shared letters: beg. Private to "gelbe": l. Private to "Gewebe": w.

"gelbe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Gewebe" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gelbeeglbe · geble · gelbbe · geleb · gellbe · ggelbe · glebe
  • Gewebeegwebe · geewbe · gewbee · gewebbe · geweeb · gewwebe · ggewebe · gweebe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gelbe" for "Gewebe" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gelbe" is an adjective and "Gewebe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gelbe" or "Gewebe"?
"gelbe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,990 in our German list, against #9,206 for "Gewebe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "gelbe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Gewebe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,952,919 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gelbe" and "Gewebe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Gewebe vs Gewerke". 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 #1,952,919 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