Which to use
“lire” and “lobe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,882
- “lire” frequency rank
- #32,155
- “lobe” frequency rank
- 71037
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lire | lobe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Schriftzeichen, Worte und Texte wahrnehmen, verarbeiten und verstehen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs loben |
Where the eye mixes lire and lobe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lire and lobe follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses lire with lobe
A purely visual mix-up. lire ([liʁ]) and lobe ([ˈloːbə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71037, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lire is recorded at frequency rank #38,882, classified as averb, pronounced [liʁ]. lobe is at rank #32,155, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈloːbə].
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 71037, this pair ranks #428,562 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lire vs lobe
Shared letters: el. Private to "lire": ir. Private to "lobe": bo.
"lire" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lobe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lire" and "lobe" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "lire" or "lobe" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lobe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #428,562 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lire" and "lobe" 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 #428,562 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.