Which to use
“liefe” and “liefere” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,812
- “liefe” frequency rank
- #31,158
- “liefere” frequency rank
- 77970
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | liefe | liefere |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs laufen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs liefern |
Where the eye mixes liefe and liefere
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. liefe runs 5 letters (CVVCV) against liefere's 7 (CVVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses liefe with liefere
A purely visual mix-up. liefe ([ˈliːfə]) and liefere ([ˈliːfəʁə]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “liefe” sits inside “liefere”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77970, 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]. liefere is at rank #31,158, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈliːfəʁə].
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 77970, this pair ranks #248,725 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of liefe vs liefere
Shared letters: efil. Private to "liefe": -. Private to "liefere": r.
"liefe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "liefere" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "liefe" and "liefere" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "liefe" vs "liefere" - which ranks higher?
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 "liefe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "liefere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,725 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "liefe" and "liefere" 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 #248,725 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.