leu
/ˈleɪ.uː/
"leu" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“leu” is uncommon English (frequency #55,554 among 16,425 “L” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #55,554
- frequency rank, English
- 16,425
- “L” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The unit of currency of Romania, equal to one hundred bani.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | leu |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈleɪ.uː/ |
| Letters | 3 |
| Frequency rank | #55,554 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “leu” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
leu is uncommon English at frequency #55,554 among 16,425 “L” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈleɪ.uː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for leu in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Romanian leu (“lion”), from Latin leō (“lion”). Doublet of Leo, lev, lion, and Lyon. The correct English form is leu, spelled L-E-U.
Definition
- 1The unit of currency of Romania, equal to one hundred bani.
- 2The unit of currency of Moldova, equal to one hundred bani.
Etymology
Borrowed from Romanian leu (“lion”), from Latin leō (“lion”). Doublet of Leo, lev, lion, and Lyon.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “leu”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is L-E-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈleɪ.uː/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.