LebervsLeesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,785
“Leber” frequency rank
#49,048
“Lees” frequency rank
56833
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Leber Lees
Definition für den Stoffwechsel wichtigstes, inneres Organ von Tier und Mensch Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lee

Where the eye mixes Leber and Lees

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Leber
4 ch
Lees

Why the eye confuses Leber with Lees

A purely visual mix-up. Leber ([ˈleːbɐ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56833, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Leber is recorded at frequency rank #7,785, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːbɐ]. 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 56833, this pair ranks #924,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Leber vs Lees

Shared letters: el. Private to "Leber": br. Private to "Lees": s.

"Leber" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Lees" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leberelber · lbeer · lebber · leberr · lebre · leebr · lleber
  • Leeseles · leess · llees

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Leber" and "Lees" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːbɐ] versus [leːs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Leber" or "Lees"?
"Leber" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,785 in our German list, against #49,048 for "Lees". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Leber" 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 #924,898 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Leber" 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 #924,898 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