Which to use
“leer” is an adjective and “lese” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,116
- “leer” frequency rank
- #2,907
- “lese” frequency rank
- 5023
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leer | lese |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (fast) ohne (physischen) Inhalt | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen |
Where the eye mixes leer and lese
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: leer vs lese
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leer is [leːɐ̯] while lese is [ˈleːzə]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5023, 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]. lese is at rank #2,907, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈleːzə].
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 5023, this pair ranks #1,996,005 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leer vs lese
Shared letters: el. Private to "leer": r. Private to "lese": s.
"leer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lese" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "leer" and "lese" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "leer" or "lese"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "leer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lese" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,996,005 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leer" and "lese" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lese". 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 #1,996,005 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.