Which to use
“lilie” is a noun and “lire” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,879
- “lilie” frequency rank
- #38,882
- “lire” frequency rank
- 77761
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lilie | lire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | hohe Pflanze mit stark duftenden, glockenförmigen Blüten; Lilie | Schriftzeichen, Worte und Texte wahrnehmen, verarbeiten und verstehen |
Where the eye mixes lilie and lire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lilie runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against lire's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lilie with lire
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lilie is [ˈlɪlɪjɛ] while lire is [liʁ]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77761, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lilie is recorded at frequency rank #38,879, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɪlɪjɛ]. 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 77761, this pair ranks #253,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lilie vs lire
Shared letters: eil. Private to "lilie": -. Private to "lire": r.
"lilie" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "lire" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lilie" and "lire" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lilie" or "lire"?
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 "lilie" 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 #253,510 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lilie" 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 #253,510 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.