leitevsLeiterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: leite is a verb, Leiter is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leite” is a verb and “Leiter” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,339
“leite” frequency rank
#1,637
“Leiter” frequency rank
22976
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leite Leiter
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leiten Person, die etwas leitet beziehungsweise als verantwortlicher Vorgesetzter in leitender Position steht

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set leite and Leiter apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
leite
6 ch
Leiter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leite is [ˈlaɪ̯tə] while Leiter is [ˈlaɪ̯tɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “leite” sits inside “Leiter”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22976, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leite is recorded at frequency rank #21,339, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯tə]. Leiter is at rank #1,637, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯tɐ].

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 22976, this pair ranks #1,867,315 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of leite vs Leiter

Shared letters: eilt. Private to "leite": -. Private to "Leiter": r.

"leite" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "Leiter" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leiteelite · leiet · letie · liete · lleite
  • Leitereliter · leietr · leiterr · leitre · leitter · letier · lieter · lleiter

Frequency comparison

leite#21,339
Leiter#1,637

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leite" and "Leiter" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leite" is a verb and "Leiter" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leite" or "Leiter"?
"Leiter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,637 in our German list, against #21,339 for "leite". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering leite vs Leiter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “leite”; for a noun, it's “Leiter”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leite” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list