Which to use
“weben” is a verb and “wessen” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,516
- “weben” frequency rank
- #12,833
- “wessen” frequency rank
- 51349
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | weben | wessen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch wechselweises Kreuzen von Längsfäden und Querfäden ein Tuch oder Stoff herstellen | Genitiv von wer |
Where the eye mixes weben and wessen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. weben runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against wessen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between weben and wessen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weben is [ˈveːbn̩] while wessen is [ˈvɛsn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51349, 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]. wessen is at rank #12,833, tagged as apron, pronounced [ˈvɛsn̩].
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 51349, this pair ranks #1,138,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of weben vs wessen
Shared letters: enw. Private to "weben": b. Private to "wessen": s.
"weben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "wessen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "weben" and "wessen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "weben" vs "wessen" - which ranks higher?
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 "wessen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,138,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "weben" and "wessen" 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 #1,138,900 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.