Which to use
“leer” and “lieb” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,116
- “leer” frequency rank
- #2,773
- “lieb” frequency rank
- 4889
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leer | lieb |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (fast) ohne (physischen) Inhalt | liebenswürdig, nett |
Where the eye mixes leer and lieb
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between leer and lieb
A purely visual mix-up. leer ([leːɐ̯]) and lieb ([liːp]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4889, 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]. lieb is at rank #2,773, tagged as anadj, pronounced [liːp].
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 4889, this pair ranks #1,996,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leer vs lieb
Shared letters: el. Private to "leer": r. Private to "lieb": bi.
"leer" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lieb" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "leer" and "lieb" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "leer" or "lieb"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "leer" and "lieb" 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 "lieb" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,996,375 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leer" and "lieb" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs lieb". 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 #1,996,375 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.