LesbevsLesbenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#39,511
“Lesbe” frequency rank
#8,241
“Lesben” frequency rank
47752
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lesbe Lesben
Definition Frau, die homosexuelle Neigungen besitzt, lesbisch ist Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Lesbe

Where the eye mixes Lesbe and Lesben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
Lesbe
6 ch
Lesben

Visual trap between Lesbe and Lesben

A purely visual mix-up. Lesbe ([ˈlɛsbə]) and Lesben ([ˈlɛsbn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Lesbe” sits inside “Lesben”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lesbe is recorded at frequency rank #39,511, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛsbə]. Lesben is at rank #8,241, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛsbn̩].

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 47752, this pair ranks #1,273,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Lesbe vs Lesben

Shared letters: bels. Private to "Lesbe": -. Private to "Lesben": n.

"Lesbe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Lesben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lesbeelsbe · lebse · lesbbe · leseb · lessbe · llesbe · lsebe
  • Lesbenelsben · lebsen · lesbben · lesbenn · lesbne · lesebn · lessben · llesben

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Lesbe" and "Lesben" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlɛsbə] versus [ˈlɛsbn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lesbe" or "Lesben"?
"Lesben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,241 in our German list, against #39,511 for "Lesbe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lesbe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lesben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,273,347 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lesbe" and "Lesben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Leibes vs Lesbe". 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 #1,273,347 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