Which to use
“leih” is a verb and “lie” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,670
- “leih” frequency rank
- #16,480
- “lie” frequency rank
- 57150
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leih | lie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leihen | Bodensatz eines flüssigen Körpers |
Where the eye mixes leih and lie
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between leih and lie
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leih is [laɪ̯] while lie is [li]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57150, 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]. lie is at rank #16,480, tagged as anoun, pronounced [li].
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 57150, this pair ranks #912,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of leih vs lie
Shared letters: eil. Private to "leih": h. Private to "lie": -.
"leih" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lie" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- leih ← elih · lehi · leihh · lleih
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "leih" and "lie" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "leih" or "lie" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "leih" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #912,554 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leih" and "lie" 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 #912,554 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.