Which to use
“leans” and “lend” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,409
- “leans” frequency rank
- #8,057
- “lend” frequency rank
- 28466
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leans | lend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | third-person singular simple present indicative of lean | To allow to be used by someone temporarily, on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned. |
Where the eye mixes leans and lend
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between leans and lend
A purely visual mix-up. leans (/liːnz/) and lend (/lɛnd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28466, 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/. lend is at rank #8,057, tagged as averb, pronounced /lɛnd/.
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 28466, this pair ranks #370,859 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of leans vs lend
Shared letters: eln. Private to "leans": as. Private to "lend": d.
"leans" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "lend" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "leans" and "lend" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "leans" or "lend" show up more?
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 "leans" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #370,859 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leans" and "lend" 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 #370,859 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.