lebtvslexWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lebt is a verb, lex is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lebt” is a verb and “lex” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,136
“lebt” frequency rank
#12,961
“lex” frequency rank
14097
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lebt lex
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leben das Recht, das Gesetz, die Gesetzessammlung

Letter map: lebt vs lex

Shared letters muted; letters that set lebt and lex apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
lebt
3 ch
lex

Grammar separator: lebt vs lex

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: lebt is averb and lexanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14097, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lebt is recorded at frequency rank #1,136, classified as averb, pronounced [leːpt]. lex is at rank #12,961, tagged as anoun.

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 14097, this pair ranks #1,953,569 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lebt vs lex

Shared letters: el. Private to "lebt": bt. Private to "lex": x.

"lebt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lex" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lebtelbt · lbet · lebbt · lebtt · letb · llebt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lebt" for "lex" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lebt" is a verb and "lex" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "lebt" vs "lex" - which ranks higher?
"lebt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,136 in our German list, against #12,961 for "lex". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "lebt" and "lex".

  • Full dictionary entry for "lebt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lex" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,953,569 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lebt" and "lex" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs lex". 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 #1,953,569 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