Which to use
“Blech” and “Blei” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,257
- “Blech” frequency rank
- #11,614
- “Blei” frequency rank
- 25871
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Blech | Blei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eine dünne Platte aus Metall | silbernes, leicht verformbares, toxisch wirkendes Metall |
Where the eye mixes Blech and Blei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Blech vs Blei
A purely visual mix-up. Blech ([blɛç]) and Blei ([blaɪ̯]) 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 25871, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Blech is recorded at frequency rank #14,257, classified as anoun, pronounced [blɛç]. Blei is at rank #11,614, tagged as anoun, pronounced [blaɪ̯].
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 25871, this pair ranks #1,826,756 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Blech vs Blei
Shared letters: bel. Private to "Blech": ch. Private to "Blei": i.
"Blech" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "Blei" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Blech" and "Blei" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Blech" or "Blei"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Blech" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Blei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,826,756 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Blech" and "Blei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Blech vs bleu". 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 #1,826,756 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.