LeibesvsLeierWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#48,301
“Leibes” frequency rank
#33,168
“Leier” frequency rank
81469
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Leibes Leier
Definition Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Leib Saiteninstrument in der Form einer Lyra

Where the eye mixes Leibes and Leier

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Leibes
5 ch
Leier

Visual trap between Leibes and Leier

A purely visual mix-up. Leibes ([ˈlaɪ̯bəs]) and Leier ([ˈlaɪ̯ɐ]) 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 81469, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Leibes is recorded at frequency rank #48,301, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯bəs]. Leier is at rank #33,168, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯ɐ].

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 81469, this pair ranks #175,213 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Leibes vs Leier

Shared letters: eil. Private to "Leibes": bs. Private to "Leier": r.

"Leibes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Leier" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leibeselibes · lebies · leibbes · leibess · leibse · leiebs · lleibes
  • Leierelier · leeir · leierr · leire · lieer · lleier

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Leibes" and "Leier" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaɪ̯bəs] versus [ˈlaɪ̯ɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Leibes" or "Leier"?
"Leier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,168 in our German list, against #48,301 for "Leibes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Leibes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Leier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #175,213 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Leibes" and "Leier" 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 #175,213 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