Which to use
“leer” is an adjective and “Leser” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,116
- “leer” frequency rank
- #2,347
- “Leser” frequency rank
- 4463
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leer | Leser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (fast) ohne (physischen) Inhalt | jemand, der liest |
Where the eye mixes leer and Leser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between leer and Leser
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leer is [leːɐ̯] while Leser is [ˈleːzɐ]. 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 4463, 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]. Leser is at rank #2,347, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːzɐ].
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 4463, this pair ranks #1,997,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leer vs Leser
Shared letters: elr. Private to "leer": -. Private to "Leser": s.
"leer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Leser" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "leer" and "Leser" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "leer" or "Leser" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "leer" and "Leser" 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 "Leser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,997,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leer" and "Leser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lasern vs Leser". 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 #1,997,659 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.