Which to use
“leaky” is an adjective and “lean” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,859
- “leaky” frequency rank
- #5,705
- “lean” frequency rank
- 32564
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leaky | lean |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Having leaks; not fully sealed. | To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating. |
Where the eye mixes leaky and lean
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses leaky with lean
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leaky is /ˈliːki/ while lean is /liːn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32564, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leaky is recorded at frequency rank #26,859, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈliːki/. lean is at rank #5,705, tagged as averb, pronounced /liːn/.
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 32564, this pair ranks #336,716 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of leaky vs lean
Shared letters: ael. Private to "leaky": ky. Private to "lean": n.
"leaky" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "lean" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "leaky" and "lean" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "leaky" or "lean" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "leaky" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lean" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #336,716 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leaky" and "lean" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leaky vs leery". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #336,716 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.