LeesvslinesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#49,048
“Lees” frequency rank
#21,343
“lines” frequency rank
70391
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lees lines
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lee Plural des Substantivs line

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
Lees
5 ch
lines

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lees ([leːs]) and lines ([laɪnz]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70391, 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]. lines is at rank #21,343, tagged as anoun, pronounced [laɪnz].

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 70391, this pair ranks #447,773 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Lees vs lines

Shared letters: els. Private to "Lees": -. Private to "lines": in.

"Lees" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "lines" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leeseles · leess · llees
  • linesilnes · liens · liness · linnes · llines · lnies

Frequency comparison

Lees#49,048
lines#21,343

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lees" and "lines" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([leːs] versus [laɪnz]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lees" or "lines"?
"lines" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,343 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 lines

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