Which to use
“liefe” is a verb and “Liste” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,812
- “liefe” frequency rank
- #957
- “Liste” frequency rank
- 47769
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | liefe | Liste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Konjunktiv II Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs laufen | ein schriftliches Verzeichnis, in dem mehrere Punkte in einer bestimmten Reihenfolge aufgeführt sind |
Where the eye mixes liefe and Liste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses liefe with Liste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: liefe is [ˈliːfə] while Liste is [ˈlɪstə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47769, 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]. Liste is at rank #957, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɪstə].
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 47769, this pair ranks #1,272,675 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of liefe vs Liste
Shared letters: eil. Private to "liefe": f. Private to "Liste": st.
"liefe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "Liste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "liefe" for "Liste" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "liefe" or "Liste" show up more?
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 "Liste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,272,675 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "liefe" and "Liste" 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 #1,272,675 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.