Which to use
“liefen” and “liefere” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,359
- “liefen” frequency rank
- #31,158
- “liefere” frequency rank
- 38517
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | liefen | liefere |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs laufen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs liefern |
Where the eye mixes liefen and liefere
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. liefen runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) 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 liefen with liefere
A purely visual mix-up. liefen ([ˈliːfn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
liefen is recorded at frequency rank #7,359, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈliːfn̩]. 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 38517, this pair ranks #1,561,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of liefen vs liefere
Shared letters: efil. Private to "liefen": n. Private to "liefere": r.
"liefen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "liefere" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "liefen" and "liefere" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "liefen" or "liefere" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "liefen" 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 #1,561,892 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "liefen" and "liefere" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "liefe vs liefere". 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 #1,561,892 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.