Which to use
“liefe” and “liefen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,812
- “liefe” frequency rank
- #7,359
- “liefen” frequency rank
- 54171
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | liefe | liefen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs laufen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs laufen |
Where the eye mixes liefe and liefen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. liefe runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against liefen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: liefe vs liefen
A purely visual mix-up. liefe ([ˈliːfə]) and liefen ([ˈliːfn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “liefe” sits inside “liefen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54171, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
liefe is recorded at frequency rank #46,812, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈliːfə]. liefen is at rank #7,359, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈliːfn̩].
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 54171, this pair ranks #1,029,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of liefe vs liefen
Shared letters: efil. Private to "liefe": -. Private to "liefen": n.
"liefe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "liefen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "liefe" and "liefen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "liefe" vs "liefen" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "liefe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "liefen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,029,369 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "liefe" and "liefen" 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 #1,029,369 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.