lieber
[ˈliːbɐ]
The verdict
“lieber” is in the everyday core of German, ranked #420 in German word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #420
- frequency rank, German
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Komparativ von gern
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 | lieber |
| Language | German |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | [ˈliːbɐ] |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #420 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “lieber” sits in German frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The German entry for lieber is 6 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈliːbɐ]. Corpus data places it at rank #420 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for lieber, with forms such as "ileber", "leiber", and "libeer". 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, "liebt", "Liter", "liefe", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is lieber, spelled L-I-E-B-E-R.
Definition
- 1Komparativ von gern
- 2vorzugsweise, als bessere Alternative
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ileber,leiber,libeer,liebber,lieberr,liebre,lieebr,llieber
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lieber - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “lieber”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct German spelling is L-I-E-B-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as [ˈliːbɐ] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “liebt” - see the side-by-side comparison. lieber vs liebt
- 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.