Which to use
“lebe” is a verb and “leer” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,905
- “lebe” frequency rank
- #2,116
- “leer” frequency rank
- 5021
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lebe | leer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leben | (fast) ohne (physischen) Inhalt |
Where the eye mixes lebe and leer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lebe and leer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lebe is [ˈleːbə] while leer is [leːɐ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lebe is recorded at frequency rank #2,905, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːbə]. leer is at rank #2,116, tagged as anadj, pronounced [leːɐ̯].
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 5021, this pair ranks #1,996,010 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lebe vs leer
Shared letters: el. Private to "lebe": b. Private to "leer": r.
"lebe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "leer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lebe" and "leer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "lebe" or "leer" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lebe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,996,010 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lebe" and "leer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lebe". 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 #1,996,010 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.