lebvslegTell them apart

Which to use

“leb” and “leg” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,418
“leb” frequency rank
#7,358
“leg” frequency rank
22776
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leb leg
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leben 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs legen

Where the eye mixes leb and leg

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
leb
3 ch
leg

Look-alike desk: leb vs leg

A purely visual mix-up. leb ([leːp]) and leg ([leːk]) 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 a single letter - b in “leb” becomes g in “leg”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22776, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leb is recorded at frequency rank #15,418, classified as averb, pronounced [leːp]. leg is at rank #7,358, tagged as averb, pronounced [leːk].

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 22776, this pair ranks #1,869,901 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of leb vs leg

Shared letters: el. Private to "leb": b. Private to "leg": g.

"leb" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "leg" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "leb" for "leg" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([leːp] versus [leːk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "leb" vs "leg" - which ranks higher?
"leg" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,358 in our German list, against #15,418 for "leb". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "leb" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,869,901 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "leb" and "leg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leb vs Lees". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,869,901 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