lässtvslegstWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#318
“lässt” frequency rank
#17,645
“legst” frequency rank
17963
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lässt legst
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lassen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs legen

Where the eye mixes lässt and legst

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

5 ch
lässt
5 ch
legst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lässt ([lɛst]) and legst ([leːkst]) 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 17963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lässt is recorded at frequency rank #318, classified as averb, pronounced [lɛst]. legst is at rank #17,645, tagged as averb, pronounced [leːkst].

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 17963, this pair ranks #1,922,659 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lässt vs legst

Shared letters: lst. Private to "lässt": ä. Private to "legst": eg.

"lässt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "legst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • legstelgst · leggst · legsst · legstt · legts · lesgt · lgest · llegst

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lässt" and "legst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lɛst] versus [leːkst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lässt" or "legst"?
"lässt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #318 in our German list, against #17,645 for "legst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list