Which to use
“Lees” is a noun and “less” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,048
- “Lees” frequency rank
- #30,180
- “less” frequency rank
- 79228
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lees | less |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lee | weniger von etwas |
Where the eye mixes Lees and less
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lees is [leːs] while less is [lɛs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “Lees” becomes s in “less”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79228, 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]. less is at rank #30,180, tagged as anadv, pronounced [lɛs].
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 79228, this pair ranks #221,027 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Lees vs less
Shared letters: els. Private to "Lees": -. Private to "less": -.
"Lees" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "less" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Lees" and "less" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Lees" or "less"?
What to do next
You've compared "Lees" and "less". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lees" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "less" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #221,027 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lees" and "less" 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.