Which to use
“lew” is a noun and “lui” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,242
- “lew” frequency rank
- #44,056
- “lui” frequency rank
- 78298
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lew | lui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Löwe (Panthera leo) | er |
Where the eye mixes lew and lui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. lew (CVC) and lui (CVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses lew with lui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lew is [lɛf] while lui is [lɥi]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78298, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lew is recorded at frequency rank #34,242, classified as anoun, pronounced [lɛf]. lui is at rank #44,056, tagged as apron, pronounced [lɥi].
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 78298, this pair ranks #241,440 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lew vs lui
Shared letters: l. Private to "lew": ew. Private to "lui": iu.
"lew" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lew" and "lui" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "lew" or "lui" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lew" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #241,440 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lew" and "lui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lori vs lui". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #241,440 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.