liefevsliehWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,812
“liefe” frequency rank
#26,953
“lieh” frequency rank
73765
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature liefe lieh
Definition 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs laufen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leihen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set liefe and lieh apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
liefe
4 ch
lieh

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. liefe ([ˈliːfə]) and lieh ([liː]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73765, 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]. lieh is at rank #26,953, tagged as averb, pronounced [liː].

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 73765, this pair ranks #351,531 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of liefe vs lieh

Shared letters: eil. Private to "liefe": f. Private to "lieh": h.

"liefe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "lieh" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • liefeilefe · leife · lieef · lieffe · lifee · lliefe
  • liehileh · liehh · lihe · llieh

Frequency comparison

liefe#46,812
lieh#26,953

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "liefe" and "lieh" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈliːfə] versus [liː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "liefe" or "lieh"?
"lieh" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,953 in our German list, against #46,812 for "liefe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering liefe vs lieh

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “liefe” 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