Which to use
“leans” and “leave” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,409
- “leans” frequency rank
- #457
- “leave” frequency rank
- 20866
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leans | leave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of lean | To have a consequence or remnant. |
Where the eye mixes leans and leave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between leans and leave
A purely visual mix-up. leans (/liːnz/) and leave (/liːv/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leans is recorded at frequency rank #20,409, classified as averb, pronounced /liːnz/. leave is at rank #457, tagged as averb, pronounced /liːv/.
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 20866, this pair ranks #428,087 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leans vs leave
Shared letters: ael. Private to "leans": ns. Private to "leave": v.
"leans" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "leave" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "leans" and "leave" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "leans" or "leave" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "leans" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #428,087 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leans" and "leave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leans vs Levis". 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 #428,087 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.