lest

[leːst]

/[leːst]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“lest” has 5 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #18,316. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,316
frequency rank, German
2,640
“L” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen

Corpus desk

Index DE-lest · lest · German

lest · rank #18,316 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,316
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,640
  • PHOTO-FINISH Lebensgeschic…

Nearest frequency peer: Lebensgeschichte (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „lest“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „lest“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

lest vs Los
25% similar
lest vs let
75% similar
lest vs lex
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for lest
PropertyValue
Headwordlest
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[leːst]
Letters4
Frequency rank#18,316
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „lest“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.lestliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Lebensgeschichte“ (#18,315), „lets“ (#18,317), „lauschen“ (#18,314). Unter 2,640 „L“-Lemmata liegt „lest“ bei #18,316. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around lest (IPA [leːst]), averb. Corpus frequency is #18,316 among 2,640 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for lest, with forms such as "elst", "lesst", and "lestt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Los", "let", "lex", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is lest, spelled L-E-S-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen
  2. 2
    2. Person Plural Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elst
  • lesst
  • lestt
  • llest
  • lset

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lest - 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.

elst2lesst1lestt1llest1lset2
Edit distance from "lest"

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 "lest"?
"lest" is spelled L-E-S-T. The IPA pronunciation is [leːst].
What does "lest" mean?
As a verb, "lest" means: 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lesen
What words are commonly confused with "lest"?
"lest" is commonly confused with "Los", "let", "lex". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lest"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lest" is [leːst]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lest" come from?
"lest" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lest", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

lets#18,317mild#18,330Kanu#18,296Iren#18,291

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

nero5 variantsAarau5 variantsavec5 variantsahnt5 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list