Which to use
“leih” and “lese” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,670
- “leih” frequency rank
- #2,907
- “lese” frequency rank
- 43577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leih | lese |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leihen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen |
Where the eye mixes leih and lese
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: leih vs lese
A purely visual mix-up. leih ([laɪ̯]) and lese ([ˈleːzə]) 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 43577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leih is recorded at frequency rank #40,670, classified as averb, pronounced [laɪ̯]. lese is at rank #2,907, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈleːzə].
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 43577, this pair ranks #1,413,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of leih vs lese
Shared letters: el. Private to "leih": hi. Private to "lese": s.
"leih" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lese" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "leih" and "lese" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "leih" or "lese" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "leih" and "lese" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "leih" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lese" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,413,729 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leih" and "lese" 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 #1,413,729 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.