Which to use
“Leier” is a noun and “leiht” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,168
- “Leier” frequency rank
- #25,647
- “leiht” frequency rank
- 58815
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Leier | leiht |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Saiteninstrument in der Form einer Lyra | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leihen |
Where the eye mixes Leier and leiht
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Leier (CVVVC) and leiht (CVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Leier and leiht
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Leier is [ˈlaɪ̯ɐ] while leiht is [laɪ̯t]. 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 58815, 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]. leiht is at rank #25,647, tagged as averb, pronounced [laɪ̯t].
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 58815, this pair ranks #848,277 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Leier vs leiht
Shared letters: eil. Private to "Leier": r. Private to "leiht": ht.
"Leier" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "leiht" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Leier" and "leiht" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Leier" or "leiht"?
What to do next
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 "leiht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #848,277 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Leier" and "leiht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs Leier". 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 #848,277 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.