Which to use
“lieben” and “liebten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,163
- “lieben” frequency rank
- #33,701
- “liebten” frequency rank
- 34864
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lieben | liebten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine innige, gefühlsmäßige Zuneigung für jemanden oder etwas empfinden | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lieben |
Where the eye mixes lieben and liebten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. lieben runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against liebten's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lieben vs liebten
A purely visual mix-up. lieben ([ˈliːbn̩]) and liebten ([ˈliːptn̩]) 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 34864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lieben is recorded at frequency rank #1,163, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈliːbn̩]. liebten is at rank #33,701, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈliːptn̩].
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 34864, this pair ranks #1,653,536 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lieben vs liebten
Shared letters: beiln. Private to "lieben": -. Private to "liebten": t.
"lieben" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "liebten" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lieben" and "liebten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "lieben" or "liebten"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lieben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "liebten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,653,536 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lieben" and "liebten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "letten vs liebten". 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 #1,653,536 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.