Which to use
“Leier” is a noun and “leih” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,168
- “Leier” frequency rank
- #40,670
- “leih” frequency rank
- 73838
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Leier | leih |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Saiteninstrument in der Form einer Lyra | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leihen |
Where the eye mixes Leier and leih
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Leier runs 5 letters (CVVVC) against leih's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Leier vs leih
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Leier is [ˈlaɪ̯ɐ] while leih is [laɪ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73838, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Leier is recorded at frequency rank #33,168, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯ɐ]. leih is at rank #40,670, tagged as averb, pronounced [laɪ̯].
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 73838, this pair ranks #349,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Leier vs leih
Shared letters: eil. Private to "Leier": r. Private to "leih": h.
"Leier" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "leih" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Leier" for "leih" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Leier" vs "leih" - which ranks higher?
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 "Leier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leih" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #349,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Leier" and "leih" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs leih". 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 #349,618 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.