likevsLügeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,288
“like” frequency rank
#4,372
“Lüge” frequency rank
8660
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature like Lüge
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs liken falsche Aussage, mit der andere bewusst getäuscht werden sollen

Where the eye mixes like and Lüge

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
like
4 ch
Lüge

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: like is [ˈlaɪ̯kə] while Lüge is [ˈlyːɡə]. 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 8660, 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]. Lüge is at rank #4,372, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlyːɡə].

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 8660, this pair ranks #1,983,392 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of like vs Lüge

Shared letters: el. Private to "like": ik. Private to "Lüge": .

"like" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "Lüge" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • likeilke · liek · likke · lkie · llike

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "like" and "Lüge" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "like" is a verb and "Lüge" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "like" or "Lüge"?
"like" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,288 in our German list, against #4,372 for "Lüge". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "like" and "Lüge". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "like" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lüge" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,983,392 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "like" and "Lüge" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs Lüge". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list