Which to use
“klebe” is a verb and “Kleve” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,281
- “klebe” frequency rank
- #19,625
- “Kleve” frequency rank
- 60906
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | klebe | Kleve |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kleben | eine Stadt in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland |
Where the eye mixes klebe and Kleve
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. klebe and Kleve follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: klebe vs Kleve
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klebe is [ˈkleːbə] while Kleve is [ˈkleːvə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “klebe” becomes v in “Kleve”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60906, 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]. Kleve is at rank #19,625, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈkleːvə].
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 60906, this pair ranks #769,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of klebe vs Kleve
Shared letters: ekl. Private to "klebe": b. Private to "Kleve": v.
"klebe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "Kleve" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "klebe" and "Kleve" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "klebe" or "Kleve"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "klebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Kleve" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #769,488 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "klebe" and "Kleve" 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 #769,488 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.