Which to use
“lest” and “liebst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,316
- “lest” frequency rank
- #9,237
- “liebst” frequency rank
- 27553
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lest | liebst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lieben |
Where the eye mixes lest and liebst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lest runs 4 letters (CVCC) against liebst's 6 (CVVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lest and liebst
A purely visual mix-up. lest ([leːst]) and liebst ([liːpst]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lest is recorded at frequency rank #18,316, classified as averb, pronounced [leːst]. liebst is at rank #9,237, tagged as averb, pronounced [liːpst].
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 27553, this pair ranks #1,799,872 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lest vs liebst
Shared letters: elst. Private to "lest": -. Private to "liebst": bi.
"lest" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "liebst" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lest" and "liebst" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "lest" or "liebst" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lest" and "liebst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lest" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "liebst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,799,872 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lest" and "liebst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs lest". 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 #1,799,872 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.