LechvsLeeWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Lech is a name, Lee is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Lech” is a name and “Lee” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,810
“Lech” frequency rank
#4,444
“Lee” frequency rank
27254
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lech Lee
Definition rechter Nebenfluss der oberen Donau in Österreich und Deutschland, welcher an der Rotwandspitze in Vorarlberg entspringt Laut Duden kann Lee sowohl das weibliche als auch das sächliche Geschlecht haben. In der Geografie wird nur die sächliche Form benutzt. In der Seemannssprache wird Lee meist ohne Artikel benutzt.

Where the eye mixes Lech and Lee

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Lech
3 ch
Lee

Why the eye confuses Lech with Lee

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lech is [lɛç] while Lee is [leː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27254, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lech is recorded at frequency rank #22,810, classified as aname, pronounced [lɛç]. Lee is at rank #4,444, tagged as anoun, pronounced [leː].

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 27254, this pair ranks #1,804,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lech vs Lee

Shared letters: el. Private to "Lech": ch. Private to "Lee": -.

"Lech" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Lee" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lechlceh · lecch · lechh · lehc · llech

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lech" and "Lee" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Lech" is a name and "Lee" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Lech" or "Lee"?
"Lee" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,444 in our German list, against #22,810 for "Lech". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lech" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lee" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,804,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lech" and "Lee" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lech 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 #1,804,757 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