LeesvsLosesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#49,048
“Lees” frequency rank
#49,058
“Loses” frequency rank
98106
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lees Loses
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lee Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Los

Where the eye mixes Lees and Loses

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Lees runs 4 letters (CVVC) against Loses's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
Lees
5 ch
Loses

Look-alike desk: Lees vs Loses

A purely visual mix-up. Lees ([leːs]) and Loses ([ˈloːzəs]) 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 98106, 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]. Loses is at rank #49,058, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈloːzəs].

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 98106, this pair ranks #2,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Lees vs Loses

Shared letters: els. Private to "Lees": -. Private to "Loses": o.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lees ← eles · leess · llees
  • Loses ← lloses · loess · losess · losses · lsoes · olses

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lees" and "Loses" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([leːs] versus [ˈloːzəs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lees" or "Loses"?
"Lees" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #49,048 in our German list, against #49,058 for "Loses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lees" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Loses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,042 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lees" and "Loses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs Leibes". 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 #2,042 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list