Which to use
“lebst” and “liest” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,057
- “lebst” frequency rank
- #2,307
- “liest” frequency rank
- 11364
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lebst | liest |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leben | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen |
Where the eye mixes lebst and liest
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lebst vs liest
A purely visual mix-up. lebst ([leːpst]) and liest ([liːst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11364, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lebst is recorded at frequency rank #9,057, classified as averb, pronounced [leːpst]. liest is at rank #2,307, tagged as averb, pronounced [liːst].
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 11364, this pair ranks #1,970,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lebst vs liest
Shared letters: elst. Private to "lebst": b. Private to "liest": i.
"lebst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "liest" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lebst" for "liest" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "lebst" or "liest" show up more?
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 "lebst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "liest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,970,264 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lebst" and "liest" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lebst 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 #1,970,264 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.