lebtevslobeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,756
“lebte” frequency rank
#32,155
“lobe” frequency rank
35911
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lebte lobe
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leben 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs loben

Where the eye mixes lebte and lobe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
lebte
4 ch
lobe

Why the eye confuses lebte with lobe

A purely visual mix-up. lebte ([ˈleːptə]) and lobe ([ˈloːbə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35911, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lebte is recorded at frequency rank #3,756, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːptə]. lobe is at rank #32,155, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈloːbə].

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 35911, this pair ranks #1,628,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lebte vs lobe

Shared letters: bel. Private to "lebte": t. Private to "lobe": o.

"lebte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "lobe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lebteelbte · lbete · lebbte · lebet · lebtte · letbe · llebte
  • lobelboe · llobe · lobbe · loeb · olbe

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lebte" and "lobe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːptə] versus [ˈloːbə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "lebte" or "lobe" show up more?
"lebte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,756 in our German list, against #32,155 for "lobe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "lebte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lobe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,628,505 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lebte" and "lobe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lobe". 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 #1,628,505 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