Which to use
“Kerbe” is a noun and “klebe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,443
- “Kerbe” frequency rank
- #41,281
- “klebe” frequency rank
- 77724
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Kerbe | klebe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine keilförmige Vertiefung | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kleben |
Where the eye mixes Kerbe and klebe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Kerbe (CVCCV) and klebe (CCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: Kerbe vs klebe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Kerbe is [ˈkɛʁbə] while klebe is [ˈkleːbə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77724, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Kerbe is recorded at frequency rank #36,443, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɛʁbə]. klebe is at rank #41,281, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkleːbə].
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 77724, this pair ranks #254,372 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Kerbe vs klebe
Shared letters: bek. Private to "Kerbe": r. Private to "klebe": l.
"Kerbe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "klebe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Kerbe" for "klebe" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Kerbe" or "klebe" show up more?
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 "Kerbe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "klebe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,372 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Kerbe" and "klebe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klebe vs Krebse". 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 #254,372 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.