liefvsLinkWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lief is a verb, Link is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lief” is a verb and “Link” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,738
“lief” frequency rank
#1,519
“Link” frequency rank
3257
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lief Link
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs laufen eine gekennzeichnete Zeichenfolge, die bei Aktivierung durch Anklicken zu einem entsprechenden Ziel weiterleitet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lief and Link apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lief
4 ch
Link

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

lief and Link form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3257, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lief is recorded at frequency rank #1,738, classified as averb, pronounced [liːf]. Link is at rank #1,519, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lɪŋk].

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 3257, this pair ranks #2,000,599 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

lief#1,738
Link#1,519

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lief" and "Link" be used interchangeably?
No, "lief" and "Link" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering lief vs Link

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lief”; for a noun, it's “Link”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lief” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list