LeesvsLehmWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Lees” and “Lehm” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,048
“Lees” frequency rank
#19,633
“Lehm” frequency rank
68681
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lees Lehm
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lee quarzhaltiger, kalkfreier Ton, der reich an Eisenverbindungen ist; gutes Ausgangsmaterial für Keramik und Ziegel

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lees and Lehm apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Lees
4 ch
Lehm

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lees ([leːs]) and Lehm ([leːm]) 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 68681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lees is recorded at frequency rank #49,048, classified as anoun, pronounced [leːs]. Lehm is at rank #19,633, tagged as anoun, pronounced [leːm].

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 68681, this pair ranks #500,236 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Lees vs Lehm

Shared letters: el. Private to "Lees": s. Private to "Lehm": hm.

"Lees" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Lehm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leeseles · leess · llees
  • Lehmelhm · lehhm · lehmm · lemh · lhem · llehm

Frequency comparison

Lees#49,048
Lehm#19,633

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lees" and "Lehm" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([leːs] versus [leːm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lees" or "Lehm"?
"Lehm" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,633 in our German list, against #49,048 for "Lees". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Lees vs Lehm

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Lees” 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