Which to use
“Lehm” and “Leim” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,633
- “Lehm” frequency rank
- #23,215
- “Leim” frequency rank
- 42848
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lehm | Leim |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | quarzhaltiger, kalkfreier Ton, der reich an Eisenverbindungen ist; gutes Ausgangsmaterial für Keramik und Ziegel | wässrige Lösung von Klebstoffen |
Where the eye mixes Lehm and Leim
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Lehm and Leim
A purely visual mix-up. Lehm ([leːm]) and Leim ([laɪ̯m]) 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 a single letter - h in “Lehm” becomes i in “Leim”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42848, 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]. Leim is at rank #23,215, tagged as anoun, pronounced [laɪ̯m].
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 42848, this pair ranks #1,436,585 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Lehm vs Leim
Shared letters: elm. Private to "Lehm": h. Private to "Leim": i.
"Lehm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Leim" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Lehm" and "Leim" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Lehm" vs "Leim" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lehm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Leim" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,436,585 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lehm" and "Leim" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs Leim". 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 #1,436,585 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.