LebervsLeserWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,785
“Leber” frequency rank
#2,347
“Leser” frequency rank
10132
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Leber Leser
Definition für den Stoffwechsel wichtigstes, inneres Organ von Tier und Mensch jemand, der liest

Where the eye mixes Leber and Leser

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

5 ch
Leber
5 ch
Leser

Why the eye confuses Leber with Leser

A purely visual mix-up. Leber ([ˈleːbɐ]) and Leser ([ˈleːzɐ]) 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 “Leber” becomes s in “Leser”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10132, 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]. Leser is at rank #2,347, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːzɐ].

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 10132, this pair ranks #1,976,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Leber vs Leser

Shared letters: elr. Private to "Leber": b. Private to "Leser": s.

"Leber" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Leser" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leberelber · lbeer · lebber · leberr · lebre · leebr · lleber
  • Leserelser · leesr · leserr · lesre · lesser · lleser · lseer

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Leber" for "Leser" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːbɐ] versus [ˈleːzɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Leber" or "Leser"?
"Leser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,347 in our German list, against #7,785 for "Leber". 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 "Leser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,976,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Leber" and "Leser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Leber 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 #1,976,623 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