lähmtvslehntWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“lähmt” and “lehnt” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,876
“lähmt” frequency rank
#6,557
“lehnt” frequency rank
56433
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lähmt lehnt
Definition 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lähmen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lehnen

Where the eye mixes lähmt and lehnt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
lähmt
5 ch
lehnt

Why the eye confuses lähmt with lehnt

A purely visual mix-up. lähmt ([lɛːmt]) and lehnt ([leːnt]) 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 56433, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lähmt is recorded at frequency rank #49,876, classified as averb, pronounced [lɛːmt]. lehnt is at rank #6,557, tagged as averb, pronounced [leːnt].

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 56433, this pair ranks #940,346 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lähmt vs lehnt

Shared letters: hlt. Private to "lähmt": . Private to "lehnt": en.

"lähmt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "lehnt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lehntelhnt · lehhnt · lehnnt · lehntt · lehtn · lenht · lhent · llehnt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lähmt" for "lehnt" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([lɛːmt] versus [leːnt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lähmt" or "lehnt"?
"lehnt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,557 in our German list, against #49,876 for "lähmt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lähmt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lehnt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #940,346 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lähmt" and "lehnt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lähmt vs lame". 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 #940,346 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list