Which to use
“lest” and “liegst” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,316
- “lest” frequency rank
- #14,624
- “liegst” frequency rank
- 32940
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lest | liegst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs liegen |
Where the eye mixes lest and liegst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lest runs 4 letters (CVCC) against liegst's 6 (CVVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lest vs liegst
A purely visual mix-up. lest ([leːst]) and liegst ([liːkst]) 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 32940, 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]. liegst is at rank #14,624, tagged as averb, pronounced [liːkst].
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 32940, this pair ranks #1,696,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lest vs liegst
Shared letters: elst. Private to "lest": -. Private to "liegst": gi.
"lest" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "liegst" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lest" for "liegst" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "lest" or "liegst" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lest" and "liegst" 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 "liegst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,696,819 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lest" and "liegst" 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 #1,696,819 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.