LepravsLyraWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,303
“Lepra” frequency rank
#45,436
“Lyra” frequency rank
93739
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lepra Lyra
Definition chronische bakterielle Infektionskrankheit der Haut, Schleimhäute und Nervenzellen der Kithara ähnliches altgriechisches Zupfinstrument mit fünf bis sieben Saiten

Where the eye mixes Lepra and Lyra

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Lepra runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against Lyra's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Lepra
4 ch
Lyra

Why the eye confuses Lepra with Lyra

A purely visual mix-up. Lepra ([ˈleːpʁa]) and Lyra ([ˈlyːʁa]) 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 93739, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lepra is recorded at frequency rank #48,303, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːpʁa]. Lyra is at rank #45,436, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlyːʁa].

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 93739, this pair ranks #20,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Lepra vs Lyra

Shared letters: alr. Private to "Lepra": ep. Private to "Lyra": y.

"Lepra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Lyra" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lepra ← elpra · lepar · leppra · leprra · lerpa · llepra · lpera
  • Lyra ← llyra · lrya · lyar · lyrra · lyyra · ylra

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Lepra" for "Lyra" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːpʁa] versus [ˈlyːʁa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Lepra" vs "Lyra" - which ranks higher?
"Lyra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #45,436 in our German list, against #48,303 for "Lepra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lepra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lyra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #20,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lepra" and "Lyra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lori vs Lyra". 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 #20,856 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