LahrvslehnWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Lahr is a name, lehn is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Lahr” is a name and “lehn” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,085
“Lahr” frequency rank
#34,238
“lehn” frequency rank
60323
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lahr lehn
Definition eine Stadt in Baden-Württemberg, Deutschland 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lehnen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lahr and lehn apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Lahr
4 ch
lehn

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lahr is [laːɐ̯] while lehn is [leːn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60323, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lahr is recorded at frequency rank #26,085, classified as aname, pronounced [laːɐ̯]. lehn is at rank #34,238, tagged as averb, pronounced [leːn].

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 60323, this pair ranks #791,289 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Lahr vs lehn

Shared letters: hl. Private to "Lahr": ar. Private to "lehn": en.

"Lahr" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lahralhr · lahhr · lahrr · larh · lhar · llahr
  • lehnelhn · lehhn · lehnn · lenh · lhen · llehn

Frequency comparison

Lahr#26,085
lehn#34,238

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lahr" and "lehn" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Lahr" is a name and "lehn" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Lahr" or "lehn"?
"Lahr" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,085 in our German list, against #34,238 for "lehn". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Lahr vs lehn

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Lahr”; for a verb, it's “lehn”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Lahr” 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