ldvslebWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: ld is a abbrev, leb is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ld” is an abbrev and “leb” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,065
“ld” frequency rank
#15,418
“leb” frequency rank
55483
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ld leb
Definition Mathematik: Schreibweise für den Zweierlogarithmus, den Logarithmus zur Basis 2, Kurzform für log₂ 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leben

Letter map: ld vs leb

Shared letters muted; letters that set ld and leb apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

2 ch
ld
3 ch
leb

Role in the sentence - ld and leb

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: ld is anabbrev and lebaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55483, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ld is recorded at frequency rank #40,065, classified as anabbrev. leb is at rank #15,418, tagged as averb, pronounced [leːp].

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 55483, this pair ranks #977,781 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ld vs leb

Shared letters: l. Private to "ld": d. Private to "leb": be.

"ld" · 2 letters · shape CC  ·  "leb" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ld" and "leb" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ld" is an abbrev and "leb" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ld" or "leb"?
"leb" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,418 in our German list, against #40,065 for "ld". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "ld" and "leb".

  • Full dictionary entry for "ld" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leb" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #977,781 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ld" and "leb" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lai vs ld". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #977,781 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