Which to use
“Leiste” is a noun and “löste” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,647
- “Leiste” frequency rank
- #6,693
- “löste” frequency rank
- 20340
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Leiste | löste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schmales, meistens langes Bauteil aus Holz, Metall oder Kunststoff | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lösen |
Where the eye mixes Leiste and löste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Leiste with löste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Leiste is [ˈlaɪ̯stə] while löste is [ˈløːstə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Leiste is recorded at frequency rank #13,647, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯stə]. löste is at rank #6,693, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈløːstə].
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 20340, this pair ranks #1,898,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Leiste vs löste
Shared letters: elst. Private to "Leiste": i. Private to "löste": ö.
"Leiste" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "löste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Leiste ← eliste · leiset · leisste · leitse · lesite · lieste · lleiste
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Leiste" for "löste" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Leiste" or "löste" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Leiste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "löste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,898,747 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Leiste" and "löste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Loses vs löste". 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 #1,898,747 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.