LemkevslikeConfusable pair

Quick tell: Lemke is a name, like is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Lemke” is a name and “like” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,888
“Lemke” frequency rank
#4,288
“like” frequency rank
40176
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lemke like
Definition deutschsprachiger Nachname, Familienname 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs liken

Letter map: Lemke vs like

Shared letters muted; letters that set Lemke and like apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

5 ch
Lemke
4 ch
like

Role in the sentence - Lemke and like

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Lemke is aname and likeaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40176, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lemke is recorded at frequency rank #35,888, classified as aname, pronounced […]. like is at rank #4,288, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯kə].

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 40176, this pair ranks #1,515,932 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lemke vs like

Shared letters: ekl. Private to "Lemke": m. Private to "like": i.

"Lemke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "like" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lemkeelmke · lekme · lemek · lemkke · lemmke · llemke · lmeke
  • likeilke · liek · likke · lkie · llike

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Lemke" for "like" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Lemke" is a name and "like" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "Lemke" vs "like" - which ranks higher?
"like" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,288 in our German list, against #35,888 for "Lemke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pair "Lemke" vs "like" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lemke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "like" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,515,932 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lemke" and "like" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lemke vs puzzles". 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 #1,515,932 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list