Which to use
“leaded” is an adjective and “leaned” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,898
- “leaded” frequency rank
- #16,954
- “leaned” frequency rank
- 61852
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leaded | leaned |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Held in place by strips of lead. | simple past and past participle of lean |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set leaded and leaned apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leaded is /ˈlɛdɪd/ while leaned is /liːnd/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “leaded” becomes n in “leaned”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61852, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leaded is recorded at frequency rank #44,898, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɛdɪd/. leaned is at rank #16,954, tagged as averb, pronounced /liːnd/.
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 61852, this pair ranks #91,839 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of leaded vs leaned
Shared letters: adel. Private to "leaded": -. Private to "leaned": n.
"leaded" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "leaned" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "leaded" and "leaned" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "leaded" or "leaned"?
Remembering leaded vs leaned
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “leaded”; for a verb, it's “leaned”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leaded” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable