Liar vs Lier: Which Spelling Is Correct?

Short answer: Use liar for a person who tells lies. Lier is a real but rare word. It means a person or thing that lies down or rests. If you mean someone who is dishonest, the spelling is almost always liar.

Both words sound the same, and both come from the verb lie. That is why people mix them up. The confusion is easier to clear once you see that lie is really two different verbs.

Table of Contents

Why there are two words

English has two verbs spelled lie:

lie (to say something untrue): lie, lied, lying
lie (to rest flat): lie, lay, lain, lying

Each verb can name the person who does the action. The first gives us liar. The second gives us lier.

What “liar” means

A liar is a person who tells lies. It is the common word, and you will see it in everyday writing, news, and speech.

He called me a liar in front of everyone.
A good liar remembers every detail of the story.
She is not a liar. She just made a mistake.

The plural is liars.

Many English words for people who do something end in -er, like teacher or runner. A few end in -ar instead, such as beggar, burglar, and scholar. Liar is one of these exceptions. This is why lier looks right to some writers when they want the dishonest-person word, but it is not the normal spelling for that meaning.

What “lier” means

A lier is someone or something that lies down or stays in a resting position. Dictionaries list it, but you will rarely meet it outside one fixed phrase.

That phrase is lier-in-wait: a person who hides and waits, often to ambush someone or catch them by surprise. The plural is liers-in-wait.

The hunter was a patient lier-in-wait beside the river.
The detectives had liers-in-wait posted along the road.

Outside that phrase, lier is uncommon, and most readers will assume it is a typo. If you want to describe someone resting, it is usually clearer to write “the person lying down” or “the sleeper”.

Liar vs lier at a glance

Word	Meaning	How common	Example
liar	a person who tells lies	very common	He is a liar.
lier	one who lies down or rests	rare	The lier-in-wait stayed still.

Pronunciation

Liar and lier are homophones. Both are said the same way: LY-er. You cannot tell them apart by ear, so the sentence around the word is your only clue. This is also why spell-check can miss the mistake: lier is a real word, so a checker may not flag it.

A quick test to choose the right word

Ask what the person did:

Did they say something untrue? Write liar.
Did they lie down or hide in a resting position? Write lier, but only if the wording sounds natural. Lier-in-wait is the safe, familiar use.

If you are unsure, liar is the right choice more than 99 times in 100 in ordinary writing. If you need to describe someone resting or hiding, rephrase the sentence rather than relying on lier.

Common mistake

Wrong: Don’t trust him. He’s a lier.
Right: Don’t trust him. He’s a liar.

The mistake happens because the word lie is in both, and the -er ending feels natural for a person who does something. Remember that for the dishonest person, the ending is -ar.

Related forms people also confuse

Lying is the “-ing” form of both verbs: He is lying to me (untruth) and She is lying on the sofa (resting).
Lied is the past tense for telling an untruth: He lied about his age.
Lay is the past tense for resting: She lay on the grass all afternoon.

Mixing up lay and lie is a separate problem from liar vs lier, but it comes from the same two-verb setup.

Takeaway

Write liar when you mean someone who tells lies. Keep lier for the rare sense of someone who lies down, mainly in the phrase lier-in-wait.

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Viraj Shivay

I write clear, practical English lessons for everyday use. On Lingotexting, I break down grammar, vocabulary, and word types into simple ideas you can apply quickly. My focus is accuracy, real examples, and helpful visuals, so learners build confidence, improve writing, and communicate naturally in school, work, and daily life.