Which to use
“gerieben” and “gewiesen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,194
- “gerieben” frequency rank
- #39,392
- “gewiesen” frequency rank
- 80586
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gerieben | gewiesen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs reiben | Partizip Perfekt des Verbs weisen |
Where the eye mixes gerieben and gewiesen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. gerieben and gewiesen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between gerieben and gewiesen
A purely visual mix-up. gerieben ([ɡəˈʁiːbn̩]) and gewiesen ([ɡəˈviːzn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80586, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gerieben is recorded at frequency rank #41,194, classified as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈʁiːbn̩]. gewiesen is at rank #39,392, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈviːzn̩].
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 80586, this pair ranks #192,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of gerieben vs gewiesen
Shared letters: egin. Private to "gerieben": br. Private to "gewiesen": sw.
"gerieben" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "gewiesen" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gerieben" for "gewiesen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "gerieben" or "gewiesen"?
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 "gerieben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gewiesen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #192,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gerieben" and "gewiesen" 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 #192,647 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.