klebevsKnebelWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: klebe is a verb, Knebel is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“klebe” is a verb and “Knebel” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,281
“klebe” frequency rank
#34,213
“Knebel” frequency rank
75494
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature klebe Knebel
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs kleben Gegenstand, der jemandem vor oder in den Mund gezwängt wird, um Schreie zu ersticken oder dämpfen

Where the eye mixes klebe and Knebel

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. klebe runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against Knebel's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
klebe
6 ch
Knebel

Look-alike desk: klebe vs Knebel

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: klebe is [ˈkleːbə] while Knebel is [ˈkneːbl̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75494, 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]. Knebel is at rank #34,213, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkneːbl̩].

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 75494, this pair ranks #306,574 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of klebe vs Knebel

Shared letters: bekl. Private to "klebe": -. Private to "Knebel": n.

"klebe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Knebel" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klebekelbe · kklebe · klbee · klebbe · kleeb · kllebe · lkebe
  • Knebelkenbel · kknebel · knbeel · knebbel · knebell · kneble · kneebl · knnebel

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "klebe" and "Knebel" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "klebe" is a verb and "Knebel" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "klebe" vs "Knebel" - which ranks higher?
"Knebel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,213 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 "Knebel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #306,574 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "klebe" and "Knebel" 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 #306,574 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