leervsLepraWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: leer is a adjective, Lepra is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leer” is an adjective and “Lepra” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,116
“leer” frequency rank
#48,303
“Lepra” frequency rank
50419
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leer Lepra
Definition (fast) ohne (physischen) Inhalt chronische bakterielle Infektionskrankheit der Haut, Schleimhäute und Nervenzellen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set leer and Lepra apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
leer
5 ch
Lepra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leer is [leːɐ̯] while Lepra is [ˈleːpʁa]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50419, 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]. Lepra is at rank #48,303, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːpʁa].

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 50419, this pair ranks #1,174,389 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leer vs Lepra

Shared letters: elr. Private to "leer": -. Private to "Lepra": ap.

"leer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Lepra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leereler · leerr · ler · lere · lleer
  • Lepraelpra · lepar · leppra · leprra · lerpa · llepra · lpera

Frequency comparison

leer#2,116
Lepra#48,303

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leer" and "Lepra" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leer" is an adjective and "Lepra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leer" or "Lepra"?
"leer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,116 in our German list, against #48,303 for "Lepra". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering leer vs Lepra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “leer”; for a noun, it's “Lepra”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leer” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list