klebevsklebtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#41,281
“klebe” frequency rank
#14,339
“klebt” frequency rank
55620
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klebe klebt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kleben 3. Person Singular Präsens Indikativ des Verbs kleben

Where the eye mixes klebe and klebt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. klebe (CCVCV) and klebt (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
klebe
5 ch
klebt

Why the eye confuses klebe with klebt

A purely visual mix-up. klebe ([ˈkleːbə]) and klebt ([kleːpt]) 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 a single letter - e in “klebe” becomes t in “klebt”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55620, 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]. klebt is at rank #14,339, tagged as averb, pronounced [kleːpt].

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 55620, this pair ranks #972,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of klebe vs klebt

Shared letters: bekl. Private to "klebe": -. Private to "klebt": t.

"klebe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "klebt" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klebekelbe · kklebe · klbee · klebbe · kleeb · kllebe · lkebe
  • klebtkelbt · kklebt · klbet · klebbt · klebtt · kletb · kllebt · lkebt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "klebe" and "klebt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkleːbə] versus [kleːpt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "klebe" or "klebt" show up more?
"klebt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,339 in our German list, against #41,281 for "klebe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "klebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "klebt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #972,521 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klebe" and "klebt" 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 #972,521 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