labervsLeierWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: laber is a verb, Leier is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“laber” is a verb and “Leier” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,469
“laber” frequency rank
#33,168
“Leier” frequency rank
69637
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laber Leier
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs labern Saiteninstrument in der Form einer Lyra

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laber and Leier apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
laber
5 ch
Leier

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laber is [ˈlaːbɐ] while Leier is [ˈlaɪ̯ɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69637, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laber is recorded at frequency rank #36,469, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaːbɐ]. Leier is at rank #33,168, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯ɐ].

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 69637, this pair ranks #470,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of laber vs Leier

Shared letters: elr. Private to "laber": ab. Private to "Leier": i.

"laber" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Leier" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laberalber · labber · laberr · labre · laebr · lbaer · llaber
  • Leierelier · leeir · leierr · leire · lieer · lleier

Frequency comparison

laber#36,469
Leier#33,168

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laber" and "Leier" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "laber" is a verb and "Leier" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "laber" or "Leier"?
"Leier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,168 in our German list, against #36,469 for "laber". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering laber vs Leier

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “laber”; for a noun, it's “Leier”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “laber” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list