LeiervsleiheWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Leier is a noun, leihe is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Leier” is a noun and “leihe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,168
“Leier” frequency rank
#27,394
“leihe” frequency rank
60562
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Leier leihe
Definition Saiteninstrument in der Form einer Lyra 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leihen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Leier and leihe apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Leier
5 ch
leihe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Leier is [ˈlaɪ̯ɐ] while leihe is [ˈlaɪ̯ə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60562, 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]. leihe is at rank #27,394, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯ə].

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 60562, this pair ranks #782,352 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Leier vs leihe

Shared letters: eil. Private to "Leier": r. Private to "leihe": h.

"Leier" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "leihe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leierelier · leeir · leierr · leire · lieer · lleier
  • leiheelihe · lehie · leieh · leihhe · liehe · lleihe

Frequency comparison

Leier#33,168
leihe#27,394

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Leier" and "leihe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Leier" is a noun and "leihe" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Leier" or "leihe"?
"leihe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,394 in our German list, against #33,168 for "Leier". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Leier vs leihe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Leier”; for a verb, it's “leihe”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Leier” 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