LebenvslebreConfusable pair

Which to use

“Leben” and “lebre” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,556
“Leben” frequency rank
#22,704
“lebre” frequency rank
72260
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Leben lebre
Definition vida. mamífero da família Leporidae, parente do coelho, maior e mais rápido que este; seu macho é o lebrão

Where the eye mixes Leben and lebre

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Leben (CVCVC) and lebre (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
Leben
5 ch
lebre

Why the eye confuses Leben with lebre

A purely visual mix-up. Leben (/ˈleːbn̩, ˈleːbm̩/) and lebre ([ˈlɛ.bɾi]) 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 72260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Leben is recorded at frequency rank #49,556, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleːbn̩, ˈleːbm̩/. lebre is at rank #22,704, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛ.bɾi].

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 72260, this pair ranks #3,111 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Leben vs lebre

Shared letters: bel. Private to "Leben": n. Private to "lebre": r.

"Leben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "lebre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leben ← elben · lbeen · lebben · lebenn · lebne · leebn · lleben
  • lebre ← elbre · lbere · lebbre · leber · lebrre · lerbe · llebre

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Leben" and "lebre" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈleːbn̩, ˈleːbm̩/ versus [ˈlɛ.bɾi]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "Leben" or "lebre" show up more?
"lebre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,704 in our Portuguese list, against #49,556 for "Leben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Leben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lebre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #3,111 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Leben" and "lebre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Leben vs len". 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 #3,111 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list