gelähmtvsgelehntWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gelähmt is a adjective, gelehnt is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gelähmt” is an adjective and “gelehnt” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,615
“gelähmt” frequency rank
#47,430
“gelehnt” frequency rank
69045
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gelähmt gelehnt
Definition an einer Lähmung leidend; unfähig, bestimmte Muskeln zu bewegen Partizip Perfekt des Verbs lehnen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gelähmt and gelehnt apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
gelähmt
7 ch
gelehnt

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

gelähmt and gelehnt form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69045, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gelähmt is recorded at frequency rank #21,615, classified as anadj, pronounced [ɡəˈlɛːmt]. gelehnt is at rank #47,430, tagged as averb, pronounced [ɡəˈleːnt].

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 69045, this pair ranks #488,766 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

gelähmt#21,615
gelehnt#47,430

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gelähmt" and "gelehnt" be used interchangeably?
No, "gelähmt" and "gelehnt" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering gelähmt vs gelehnt

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “gelähmt”; for a verb, it's “gelehnt”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gelähmt” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list