Which to use
“leer” is an adjective and “Leos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,116
- “leer” frequency rank
- #46,110
- “Leos” frequency rank
- 48226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leer | Leos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (fast) ohne (physischen) Inhalt | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Leo |
Where the eye mixes leer and Leos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between leer and Leos
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leer is [leːɐ̯] while Leos is [ˈleːos]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48226, 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]. Leos is at rank #46,110, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːos].
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 48226, this pair ranks #1,256,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of leer vs Leos
Shared letters: el. Private to "leer": r. Private to "Leos": os.
"leer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Leos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "leer" for "Leos" ever safe?
Frequency check: "leer" vs "Leos" - which ranks higher?
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 "leer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Leos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,256,243 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leer" and "Leos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs Leos". 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 #1,256,243 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.