lebtevsliebtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,756
“lebte” frequency rank
#2,348
“liebt” frequency rank
6104
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lebte liebt
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leben 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lieben

Where the eye mixes lebte and liebt

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

5 ch
lebte
5 ch
liebt

Look-alike desk: lebte vs liebt

A purely visual mix-up. lebte ([ˈleːptə]) and liebt ([liːpt]) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6104, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lebte is recorded at frequency rank #3,756, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːptə]. liebt is at rank #2,348, tagged as averb, pronounced [liːpt].

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 6104, this pair ranks #1,992,709 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lebte vs liebt

Shared letters: belt. Private to "lebte": -. Private to "liebt": i.

"lebte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "liebt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lebteelbte · lbete · lebbte · lebet · lebtte · letbe · llebte
  • liebtilebt · leibt · libet · liebbt · liebtt · lietb · lliebt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lebte" and "liebt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːptə] versus [liːpt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lebte" vs "liebt" - which ranks higher?
"liebt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,348 in our German list, against #3,756 for "lebte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lebte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "liebt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,992,709 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lebte" and "liebt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lebte vs Lübke". 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 #1,992,709 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