levsLöweWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: le is a determiner, Löwe is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“le” is a determiner and “Löwe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,852
“le” frequency rank
#8,752
“Löwe” frequency rank
10604
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature le Löwe
Definition der, die, das (in Afrika sowie im westlichen Indien beheimatetes, zu den Großkatzen zählendes) Raubtier mit langem Schwanz, dessen kurzes Fell graugelb bis ockerfarben gefärbt ist und deren Männchen eine lange Mähne um Nacken und Schultern besitzen

Where the spellings diverge

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

2 ch
le
4 ch
Löwe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

le and Löwe form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10604, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

le is recorded at frequency rank #1,852, classified as adet, pronounced [lə]. Löwe is at rank #8,752, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈløːvə].

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 10604, this pair ranks #1,974,316 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

le#1,852
Löwe#8,752

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "le" and "Löwe" be used interchangeably?
No, "le" and "Löwe" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering le vs Löwe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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