# leek vs lye

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### leek
*noun · IPA /liːk/ · frequency rank #34,158*
A vegetable of variety Allium ampeloprasum, having edible leaves and an onion-like bulb but with a milder flavour than the onion.

### lye
*noun · IPA /laɪ/ · frequency rank #40,787*
An alkaline liquid made by leaching ashes (usually wood ashes).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/leek-vs-lye