Which to use
“leer” and “leger” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,116
- “leer” frequency rank
- #46,108
- “leger” frequency rank
- 48224
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leer | leger |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (fast) ohne (physischen) Inhalt | leicht, bequem (meist in Zusammenhang mit Kleidung) |
Where the eye mixes leer and leger
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses leer with leger
A purely visual mix-up. leer ([leːɐ̯]) and leger ([leˈʒɛːɐ̯]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48224, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leer is recorded at frequency rank #2,116, classified as anadj, pronounced [leːɐ̯]. leger is at rank #46,108, tagged as anadj, pronounced [leˈʒɛːɐ̯].
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 48224, this pair ranks #1,256,313 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of leer vs leger
Shared letters: elr. Private to "leer": -. Private to "leger": g.
"leer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "leger" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "leer" for "leger" ever safe?
Frequency check: "leer" vs "leger" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "leer" and "leger" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "leer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,256,313 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leer" and "leger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs leger". 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 #1,256,313 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.