Which to use
“weben” and “weilen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,516
- “weben” frequency rank
- #47,125
- “weilen” frequency rank
- 85641
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weben | weilen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch wechselweises Kreuzen von Längsfäden und Querfäden ein Tuch oder Stoff herstellen | sich an einem Ort aufhalten, an einem Ort bleiben |
Where the eye mixes weben and weilen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. weben runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against weilen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between weben and weilen
A purely visual mix-up. weben ([ˈveːbn̩]) and weilen ([ˈvaɪ̯lən]) 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 85641, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
weben is recorded at frequency rank #38,516, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈveːbn̩]. weilen is at rank #47,125, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯lən].
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 85641, this pair ranks #105,261 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of weben vs weilen
Shared letters: enw. Private to "weben": b. Private to "weilen": il.
"weben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "weilen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "weben" and "weilen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "weben" vs "weilen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "weben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "weilen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #105,261 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weben" and "weilen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weilen vs Weines". 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 #105,261 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.