Which to use
“lehr” and “lest” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,120
- “lehr” frequency rank
- #18,316
- “lest” frequency rank
- 32436
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehr | lest |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lehren | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen |
Where the eye mixes lehr and lest
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lehr and lest
A purely visual mix-up. lehr ([leːɐ̯]) and lest ([leːst]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lehr is recorded at frequency rank #14,120, classified as averb, pronounced [leːɐ̯]. lest is at rank #18,316, tagged as averb, pronounced [leːst].
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 32436, this pair ranks #1,707,602 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lehr vs lest
Shared letters: el. Private to "lehr": hr. Private to "lest": st.
"lehr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lest" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lehr" and "lest" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lehr" vs "lest" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "lehr" and "lest" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lehr" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lest" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,707,602 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehr" and "lest" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs lest". 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 #1,707,602 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.