leih vs loh, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“leih” and “loh” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#40,670
“leih” frequency rank: #44,776
“loh” frequency rank: 85446
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	leih	loh
Definition	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leihen	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lohen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set leih and loh apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

leih

3 ch

loh

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. leih ([laɪ̯]) and loh ([loː]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85446, 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]. loh is at rank #44,776, tagged as averb, pronounced [loː].

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 85446, this pair ranks #108,220 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of leih vs loh

Shared letters: hl. Private to "leih": ei. Private to "loh": o.

"leih" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "loh" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

leih ← elih · lehi · leihh · lleih

Frequency comparison

leih#40,670

loh#44,776

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leih" and "loh" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([laɪ̯] versus [loː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "leih" or "loh"?

"leih" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #40,670 in our German list, against #44,776 for "loh". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering leih vs loh

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leih” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable