Which to use
“libre” is an adjective and “liefe” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,891
- “libre” frequency rank
- #46,812
- “liefe” frequency rank
- 82703
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | libre | liefe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | frei | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs laufen |
Where the eye mixes libre and liefe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. libre (CVCCV) and liefe (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses libre with liefe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: libre is [libʁ] while liefe is [ˈliːfə]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
libre is recorded at frequency rank #35,891, classified as anadj, pronounced [libʁ]. liefe is at rank #46,812, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈliːfə].
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 82703, this pair ranks #152,558 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of libre vs liefe
Shared letters: eil. Private to "libre": br. Private to "liefe": f.
"libre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "liefe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "libre" for "liefe" ever safe?
Frequency check: "libre" vs "liefe" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "libre" and "liefe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "libre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "liefe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #152,558 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "libre" and "liefe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "liefe vs Lienz". 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 #152,558 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.