Which to use
“lets” and “lies” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,317
- “lets” frequency rank
- #5,620
- “lies” frequency rank
- 23937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lets | lies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs let | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen |
Letter map: lets vs lies
Shared letters muted; letters that set lets and lies apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Pair insight - lets / lies
lets and lies are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lets is recorded at frequency rank #18,317, classified as averb, pronounced […]. lies is at rank #5,620, tagged as averb, pronounced [liːs].
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 23937, this pair ranks #1,854,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lets vs lies
Shared letters: els. Private to "lets": t. Private to "lies": i.
"lets" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lies" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lets" for "lies" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "lets" or "lies" show up more?
What to do next
You've compared "lets" and "lies". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "lets" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,854,552 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lets" and "lies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lets vs puzzles". 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 #1,854,552 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.