Which to use
“like” and “lire” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,288
- “like” frequency rank
- #38,882
- “lire” frequency rank
- 43170
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | like | lire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs liken | Schriftzeichen, Worte und Texte wahrnehmen, verarbeiten und verstehen |
Where the eye mixes like and lire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: like vs lire
A purely visual mix-up. like ([ˈlaɪ̯kə]) and lire ([liʁ]) 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 a single letter - k in “like” becomes r in “lire”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43170, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
like is recorded at frequency rank #4,288, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯kə]. lire is at rank #38,882, tagged as averb, pronounced [liʁ].
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 43170, this pair ranks #1,426,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of like vs lire
Shared letters: eil. Private to "like": k. Private to "lire": r.
"like" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lire" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "like" for "lire" ever safe?
Which is more common, "like" or "lire"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "like" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,426,467 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "like" and "lire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lire". 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 #1,426,467 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.