Which to use
“langen” and “legen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,204
- “langen” frequency rank
- #1,262
- “legen” frequency rank
- 2466
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | langen | legen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich einem Gegenstand entgegen strecken, um ihn zu ergreifen | etwas in horizontale Lage bringen oder in horizontaler Lage in eine Position bringen |
Where the eye mixes langen and legen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between langen and legen
A purely visual mix-up. langen ([ˈlaŋən]) and legen ([ˈleːɡn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2466, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
langen is recorded at frequency rank #1,204, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaŋən]. legen is at rank #1,262, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈleːɡn̩].
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 2466, this pair ranks #2,002,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of langen vs legen
Shared letters: egln. Private to "langen": a. Private to "legen": -.
"langen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "legen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "langen" and "legen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "langen" or "legen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "langen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "legen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,002,286 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "langen" and "legen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "legen vs lenzen". 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 #2,002,286 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.