lievsLokWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,480
“lie” frequency rank
#12,122
“Lok” frequency rank
28602
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lie Lok
Definition Bodensatz eines flüssigen Körpers Lokomotive

Where the eye mixes lie and Lok

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
lie
3 ch
Lok

Why the eye confuses lie with Lok

A purely visual mix-up. lie ([li]) and Lok ([lɔk]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lie is recorded at frequency rank #16,480, classified as anoun, pronounced [li]. Lok is at rank #12,122, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lɔk].

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 28602, this pair ranks #1,781,847 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lie vs Lok

Shared letters: l. Private to "lie": ei. Private to "Lok": ko.

"lie" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "Lok" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lie" for "Lok" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([li] versus [lɔk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lie" vs "Lok" - which ranks higher?
"Lok" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,122 in our German list, against #16,480 for "lie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lok" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,781,847 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lie" and "Lok" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lie". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,781,847 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