Which to use
“klebe” and “kleben” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,281
- “klebe” frequency rank
- #10,312
- “kleben” frequency rank
- 51593
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | klebe | kleben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kleben | zwei Gegenstände mit einem Hilfsstoff (Klebstoff) zum dauernden Aneinanderhaften bringen |
Where the eye mixes klebe and kleben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. klebe runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against kleben's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: klebe vs kleben
A purely visual mix-up. klebe ([ˈkleːbə]) and kleben ([ˈkleːbn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “klebe” sits inside “kleben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51593, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
klebe is recorded at frequency rank #41,281, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkleːbə]. kleben is at rank #10,312, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkleːbn̩].
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 51593, this pair ranks #1,129,550 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of klebe vs kleben
Shared letters: bekl. Private to "klebe": -. Private to "kleben": n.
"klebe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "kleben" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "klebe" and "kleben" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "klebe" vs "kleben" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "klebe" and "kleben" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "klebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "kleben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,129,550 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "klebe" and "kleben" 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 #1,129,550 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.