Which to use
“leeres” is an adjective and “Lees” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,026
- “leeres” frequency rank
- #49,048
- “Lees” frequency rank
- 73074
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leeres | Lees |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs leer | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lee |
Where the eye mixes leeres and Lees
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses leeres with Lees
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leeres is [ˈleːʁəs] while Lees is [leːs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 73074, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leeres is recorded at frequency rank #24,026, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈleːʁəs]. Lees is at rank #49,048, tagged as anoun, pronounced [leːs].
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 73074, this pair ranks #370,480 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of leeres vs Lees
Shared letters: els. Private to "leeres": r. Private to "Lees": -.
"leeres" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "Lees" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "leeres" and "Lees" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "leeres" or "Lees" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "leeres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Lees" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #370,480 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leeres" and "Lees" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs Loses". 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 #370,480 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.