leerevsLepraWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,286
“leere” frequency rank
#48,303
“Lepra” frequency rank
52589
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leere Lepra
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs leer chronische bakterielle Infektionskrankheit der Haut, Schleimhäute und Nervenzellen

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
leere
5 ch
Lepra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leere is [ˈleːʁə] while Lepra is [ˈleːpʁa]. 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 52589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leere is recorded at frequency rank #4,286, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈleːʁə]. 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 52589, this pair ranks #1,090,912 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leere vs Lepra

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

"leere" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "Lepra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leereelere · leeer · leerre · leree · lleere
  • Lepraelpra · lepar · leppra · leprra · lerpa · llepra · lpera

Frequency comparison

leere#4,286
Lepra#48,303

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leere" and "Lepra" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leere" is an adjective and "Lepra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leere" or "Lepra"?
"leere" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,286 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 leere vs Lepra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “leere”; for a noun, it's “Lepra”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leere” 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