lasvsLeesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#3,265
“las” frequency rank
#49,048
“Lees” frequency rank
52313
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature las Lees
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lesen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lee

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set las and Lees apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
las
4 ch
Lees

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: las is [laːs] while Lees is [leːs]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

las is recorded at frequency rank #3,265, classified as averb, pronounced [laːs]. Lees is at rank #49,048, tagged as anoun, pronounced [leːs].

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 52313, this pair ranks #1,101,644 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of las vs Lees

Shared letters: ls. Private to "las": a. Private to "Lees": e.

"las" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Lees" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leeseles · leess · llees

Frequency comparison

las#3,265
Lees#49,048

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "las" and "Lees" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "las" is a verb and "Lees" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "las" or "Lees"?
"las" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,265 in our German list, against #49,048 for "Lees". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering las vs Lees

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “las”; for a noun, it's “Lees”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “las” 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