Leu

[lɔɪ̯]

/[lɔɪ̯]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Leu” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #42,653) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#42,653
frequency rank, German
2,640
“L” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Löwe

Corpus desk

Index DE-leu · Leu · German

Leu · rank #42,653 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #42,653
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,640
  • PHOTO-FINISH leistungsstar…

Nearest frequency peer: leistungsstarke (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “Leu”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “Leu” sits against the nearest ranked German headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

Leu vs Li
33% similar
Leu vs LG
33% similar
Leu vs LP
33% similar

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

Key facts for Leu
PropertyValue
HeadwordLeu
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[lɔɪ̯]
Letters3
Frequency rank#42,653
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Wo “Leu” in der deutschen Häufigkeit sitzt

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.Leuliegt hier:

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

Die Ticks laufen logarithmisch; jeder ist rund zehnmal seltener. In derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite liegen „leistungsstarke“ (#42,652), „Leugnung“ (#42,654), „leistungsfähigen“ (#42,651). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for Leu is neighbouring look-alikes ("Li", "LG", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced [lɔɪ̯]. Frequency #42,653 among 2,640 “L” headwords. Gloss: "Löwe".

No misspelling variants are generated for Leu in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Li", "LG", "LP", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Leu, spelled L-E-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Löwe

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Leu appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. „»O, ich begreife es wohl« - antwortete der Rabbi und wehmütiger Ernst zog über seine Stirne - »ich begreife es wohl, wie der stolze Leu aus Stolz seinen fürstlichen Pelz abwirft und sich in den bunten Schuppenpanzer des Krokodils verkappt, weil es Mode ist ein greinendes, schlaues, gefräßiges Krokodil zu sein! Was sollen erst die geringeren Tiere beginne…
  2. „Dein Portrait ist mir doch jetzt von großem Werthe, und ich gäbe es um Vieles nicht hin, obwohl Du mich ansturst wie ein grimmiger Leu, daß ich immer sagen möchte: friß mich nicht, kleines Pferd!“

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 "Leu"?
"Leu" is spelled L-E-U. The IPA pronunciation is [lɔɪ̯].
What does "Leu" mean?
As a noun, "Leu" means: Löwe
What words are commonly confused with "Leu"?
"Leu" is commonly confused with "Li", "LG", "LP". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Leu"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Leu" is [lɔɪ̯]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Leu" come from?
"Leu" 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 "Leu", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mot#42,693RTS#42,773GBA#42,509Ewa#42,476

What to do next

You've looked up "Leu". Here's where to go from here.

  • "Leu" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Li". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #42,653 among German headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more German words in the "L" letter cohort. L–Z browse

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

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list