LehrevsLesbeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,840
“Lehre” frequency rank
#39,511
“Lesbe” frequency rank
42351
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lehre Lesbe
Definition sprachliche Darstellung eines Wissensgebietes in Lehrbüchern oder Vorträgen Frau, die homosexuelle Neigungen besitzt, lesbisch ist

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
Lehre
5 ch
Lesbe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lehre ([ˈleːʁə]) and Lesbe ([ˈlɛsbə]) 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 42351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lehre is recorded at frequency rank #2,840, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːʁə]. Lesbe is at rank #39,511, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛsbə].

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 42351, this pair ranks #1,452,019 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Lehre vs Lesbe

Shared letters: el. Private to "Lehre": hr. Private to "Lesbe": bs.

"Lehre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Lesbe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lehreelhre · leher · lehhre · lerhe · lhere · llehre
  • Lesbeelsbe · lebse · lesbbe · leseb · lessbe · llesbe · lsebe

Frequency comparison

Lehre#2,840
Lesbe#39,511

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lehre" and "Lesbe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːʁə] versus [ˈlɛsbə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lehre" or "Lesbe"?
"Lehre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,840 in our German list, against #39,511 for "Lesbe". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Lehre vs Lesbe

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 “Lehre” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list