Which to use
“leaned” is a verb and “lease” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,954
- “leaned” frequency rank
- #5,432
- “lease” frequency rank
- 22386
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leaned | lease |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | simple past and past participle of lean | An interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold. |
Where the eye mixes leaned and lease
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses leaned with lease
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leaned is /liːnd/ while lease is /liːs/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22386, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leaned is recorded at frequency rank #16,954, classified as averb, pronounced /liːnd/. lease is at rank #5,432, tagged as anoun, pronounced /liːs/.
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 22386, this pair ranks #416,969 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leaned vs lease
Shared letters: ael. Private to "leaned": dn. Private to "lease": s.
"leaned" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "lease" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "leaned" and "lease" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "leaned" or "lease"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "leaned" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lease" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #416,969 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leaned" and "lease" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Laney vs leaned". 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 #416,969 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.