LebensvsLeesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,135
“Lebens” frequency rank
#49,048
“Lees” frequency rank
50183
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lebens Lees
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Leben Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lee

Where the eye mixes Lebens and Lees

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Lebens
4 ch
Lees

Look-alike desk: Lebens vs Lees

A purely visual mix-up. Lebens ([ˈleːbn̩s]) and Lees ([leːs]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50183, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lebens is recorded at frequency rank #1,135, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːbn̩s]. Lees is at rank #49,048, tagged as anoun, pronounced [leːs].

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 50183, this pair ranks #1,183,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Lebens vs Lees

Shared letters: els. Private to "Lebens": bn. Private to "Lees": -.

"Lebens" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "Lees" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lebenselbens · lbeens · lebbens · lebenns · lebenss · lebesn · lebnes · leebns
  • Leeseles · leess · llees

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Lebens" and "Lees" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːbn̩s] versus [leːs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Lebens" vs "Lees" - which ranks higher?
"Lebens" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,135 in our German list, against #49,048 for "Lees". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lebens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lees" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,183,464 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lebens" and "Lees" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs Loses". 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 #1,183,464 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