klebenvsKleberConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#10,312
“kleben” frequency rank
#17,341
“Kleber” frequency rank
27653
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature kleben Kleber
Definition zwei Gegenstände mit einem Hilfsstoff (Klebstoff) zum dauernden Aneinanderhaften bringen Substanz, die genutzt werden kann, um zwei Teile miteinander zu verbinden

Where the eye mixes kleben and Kleber

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
kleben
6 ch
Kleber

Look-alike desk: kleben vs Kleber

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: kleben is [ˈkleːbn̩] while Kleber is [ˈkleːbɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “kleben” becomes r in “Kleber”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

kleben is recorded at frequency rank #10,312, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkleːbn̩]. Kleber is at rank #17,341, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkleːbɐ].

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 27653, this pair ranks #1,798,220 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of kleben vs Kleber

Shared letters: bekl. Private to "kleben": n. Private to "Kleber": r.

"kleben" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "Kleber" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • klebenkelben · kkleben · klbeen · klebben · klebenn · klebne · kleebn · klleben
  • Kleberkelber · kkleber · klbeer · klebber · kleberr · klebre · kleebr · klleber

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "kleben" for "Kleber" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "kleben" is a verb and "Kleber" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "kleben" vs "Kleber" - which ranks higher?
"kleben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,312 in our German list, against #17,341 for "Kleber". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "kleben" and "Kleber" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "kleben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Kleber" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,798,220 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "kleben" and "Kleber" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "klebe vs Kleber". 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 #1,798,220 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