webenvswerfenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#38,516
“weben” frequency rank
#2,095
“werfen” frequency rank
40611
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weben werfen
Definition durch wechselweises Kreuzen von Längsfäden und Querfäden ein Tuch oder Stoff herstellen etwas in eine bestimmte Richtung schleudern

Where the eye mixes weben and werfen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
weben
6 ch
werfen

Why the eye confuses weben with werfen

A purely visual mix-up. weben ([ˈveːbn̩]) and werfen ([ˈvɛʁfn̩]) 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 40611, 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]. werfen is at rank #2,095, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈvɛʁfn̩].

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 40611, this pair ranks #1,503,531 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of weben vs werfen

Shared letters: enw. Private to "weben": b. Private to "werfen": fr.

"weben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "werfen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • webenewben · wbeen · webben · webenn · webne · weebn · wweben
  • werfenewrfen · wefren · werefn · werfenn · werffen · werfne · werrfen · wrefen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "weben" and "werfen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈveːbn̩] versus [ˈvɛʁfn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "weben" or "werfen"?
"werfen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,095 in our German list, against #38,516 for "weben". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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 "werfen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,503,531 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "weben" and "werfen" 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 #1,503,531 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