Which to use
“leave” is a verb and “level” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #457
- “leave” frequency rank
- #377
- “level” frequency rank
- 834
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leave | level |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To have a consequence or remnant. | The same height at all places; parallel to a flat ground. |
Where the eye mixes leave and level
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses leave with level
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leave is /liːv/ while level is /ˈlɛv.l̩/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 834, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leave is recorded at frequency rank #457, classified as averb, pronounced /liːv/. level is at rank #377, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɛv.l̩/.
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 834, this pair ranks #528,692 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leave vs level
Shared letters: elv. Private to "leave": a. Private to "level": -.
"leave" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "level" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "leave" for "level" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "leave" or "level" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "leave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "level" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #528,692 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leave" and "level" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laver vs leave". 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 #528,692 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.