leer
[leːɐ̯]
The verdict
“leer” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #2,116 in German word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #2,116
- frequency rank, German
- 4
- letters
- 5
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - (fast) ohne (physischen) Inhalt
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | leer |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | [leːɐ̯] |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #2,116 |
| Misspellings tracked | 5 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “leer” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for leer is 4 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [leːɐ̯]. Corpus data places it at rank #2,116 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for leer, with forms such as "eler", "leerr", and "ler". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Lr", "Leo", "leg", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct German form is leer, spelled L-E-E-R.
Definition
- 1(fast) ohne (physischen) Inhalt
- 2ohne Menschen
- 3ohne Mimik und Gesten; ohne geistigen Gehalt; ohne Substanz/Tiefgang
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: eler,leerr,ler,lere,lleer
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of leer - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "leer"?
What does "leer" mean?
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Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “leer”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is L-E-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [leːɐ̯] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Lr” - see the side-by-side comparison. leer vs Lr
- Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.