lassenvslesenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#162
“lassen” frequency rank
#506
“lesen” frequency rank
668
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lassen lesen
Definition nichts verändern und somit alles so lassen, wie es ist; etwas beim Status quo belassen Schriftzeichen, Worte und Texte (mithilfe der Augen) wahrnehmen sowie (im Gehirn) verarbeiten und verstehen, sowie dies gegebenenfalls laut vorlesen

Where the eye mixes lassen and lesen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
lassen
5 ch
lesen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lassen ([ˈlasn̩]) and lesen ([ˈleːzn̩]) 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 668, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lassen is recorded at frequency rank #162, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlasn̩]. lesen is at rank #506, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈleːzn̩].

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 668, this pair ranks #2,005,525 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lassen vs lesen

Shared letters: elns. Private to "lassen": a. Private to "lesen": -.

"lassen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "lesen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lassenalssen · lasesn · lassenn · lassne · laßen · llassen · lsasen
  • lesenelsen · leesn · lesenn · lesne · lessen · llesen · lseen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lassen" and "lesen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlasn̩] versus [ˈleːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lassen" or "lesen"?
"lassen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #162 in our German list, against #506 for "lesen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list