Which to use
“weben” and “were” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,516
- “weben” frequency rank
- #13,071
- “were” frequency rank
- 51587
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weben | were |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch wechselweises Kreuzen von Längsfäden und Querfäden ein Tuch oder Stoff herstellen | 2. Person Singular simple past des Verbs be |
Where the eye mixes weben and were
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: weben vs were
A purely visual mix-up. weben ([ˈveːbn̩]) and were ([wɜː]) 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 51587, 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]. were is at rank #13,071, tagged as averb, pronounced [wɜː].
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 51587, this pair ranks #1,129,774 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of weben vs were
Shared letters: ew. Private to "weben": bn. Private to "were": r.
"weben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "were" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "weben" and "were" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "weben" or "were" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "weben" and "were" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "weben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "were" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,129,774 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weben" and "were" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "weben vs weilen". 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 #1,129,774 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.