Which to use
“lead” and “Lee” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,808
- “lead” frequency rank
- #4,444
- “Lee” frequency rank
- 27252
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lead | Lee |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Blei | Laut Duden kann Lee sowohl das weibliche als auch das sächliche Geschlecht haben. In der Geografie wird nur die sächliche Form benutzt. In der Seemannssprache wird Lee meist ohne Artikel benutzt. |
Where the eye mixes lead and Lee
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lead with Lee
A purely visual mix-up. lead ([lɛd]) and Lee ([leː]) 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 27252, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lead is recorded at frequency rank #22,808, classified as anoun, pronounced [lɛd]. Lee is at rank #4,444, tagged as anoun, pronounced [leː].
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 27252, this pair ranks #1,804,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lead vs Lee
Shared letters: el. Private to "lead": ad. Private to "Lee": -.
"lead" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Lee" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lead ← elad · leadd · leda · llead
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lead" for "Lee" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "lead" or "Lee" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lead" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Lee" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,804,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lead" and "Lee" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lead vs Lees". 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 #1,804,784 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.