liehvsLimesWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: lieh is a verb, Limes is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lieh” is a verb and “Limes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,953
“lieh” frequency rank
#36,483
“Limes” frequency rank
63436
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lieh Limes
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leihen Grenzwall des Römischen Reichs

Where the eye mixes lieh and Limes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
lieh
5 ch
Limes

Why the eye confuses lieh with Limes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lieh is [liː] while Limes is [ˈliːmɛs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63436, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lieh is recorded at frequency rank #26,953, classified as averb, pronounced [liː]. Limes is at rank #36,483, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈliːmɛs].

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 63436, this pair ranks #676,919 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lieh vs Limes

Shared letters: eil. Private to "lieh": h. Private to "Limes": ms.

"lieh" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Limes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • liehileh · liehh · lihe · llieh
  • Limesilmes · liems · limess · limmes · limse · llimes · lmies

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lieh" for "Limes" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lieh" is a verb and "Limes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lieh" or "Limes"?
"lieh" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,953 in our German list, against #36,483 for "Limes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lieh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Limes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #676,919 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lieh" and "Limes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs Limes". 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 #676,919 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list