letvsliebtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#11,088
“let” frequency rank
#2,348
“liebt” frequency rank
13436
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature let liebt
Definition lassen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lieben

Where the eye mixes let and liebt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

3 ch
let
5 ch
liebt

Look-alike desk: let vs liebt

A purely visual mix-up. let ([lɛt]) and liebt ([liːpt]) 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 13436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

let is recorded at frequency rank #11,088, classified as averb, pronounced [lɛt]. liebt is at rank #2,348, tagged as averb, pronounced [liːpt].

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 13436, this pair ranks #1,958,016 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of let vs liebt

Shared letters: elt. Private to "let": -. Private to "liebt": bi.

"let" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "liebt" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • liebtilebt · leibt · libet · liebbt · liebtt · lietb · lliebt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "let" and "liebt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lɛt] versus [liːpt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "let" or "liebt" show up more?
"liebt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,348 in our German list, against #11,088 for "let". 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 "let" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "liebt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,958,016 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "let" and "liebt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs let". 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 #1,958,016 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