LehmvsLehreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,633
“Lehm” frequency rank
#2,840
“Lehre” frequency rank
22473
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lehm Lehre
Definition quarzhaltiger, kalkfreier Ton, der reich an Eisenverbindungen ist; gutes Ausgangsmaterial für Keramik und Ziegel sprachliche Darstellung eines Wissensgebietes in Lehrbüchern oder Vorträgen

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
Lehm
5 ch
Lehre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lehm ([leːm]) and Lehre ([ˈleːʁə]) 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 22473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lehm is recorded at frequency rank #19,633, classified as anoun, pronounced [leːm]. Lehre is at rank #2,840, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːʁə].

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 22473, this pair ranks #1,873,721 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lehm vs Lehre

Shared letters: ehl. Private to "Lehm": m. Private to "Lehre": r.

"Lehm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Lehre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lehmelhm · lehhm · lehmm · lemh · lhem · llehm
  • Lehreelhre · leher · lehhre · lerhe · lhere · llehre

Frequency comparison

Lehm#19,633
Lehre#2,840

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lehm" and "Lehre" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([leːm] versus [ˈleːʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lehm" or "Lehre"?
"Lehre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,840 in our German list, against #19,633 for "Lehm". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Lehm vs Lehre

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 “Lehm” 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