Which to use
“lesen” is a verb and “less” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #506
- “lesen” frequency rank
- #30,180
- “less” frequency rank
- 30686
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lesen | less |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Schriftzeichen, Worte und Texte (mithilfe der Augen) wahrnehmen sowie (im Gehirn) verarbeiten und verstehen, sowie dies gegebenenfalls laut vorlesen | weniger von etwas |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lesen and less apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lesen and less form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lesen is recorded at frequency rank #506, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːzn̩]. less is at rank #30,180, tagged as anadv, pronounced [lɛs].
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 30686, this pair ranks #1,743,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lesen" and "less" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lesen vs less
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lesen”; for an adverb, it's “less”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lesen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable