Which to use
“lästern” and “listen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,671
- “lästern” frequency rank
- #5,978
- “listen” frequency rank
- 37649
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lästern | listen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch verächtliches Gerede beleidigen (insbesondere Gott, etwas Heiliges) | etwas mündlich aufzählen oder schriftlich anführen |
Where the eye mixes lästern and listen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lästern runs 7 letters (CVCCVCC) against listen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lästern vs listen
A purely visual mix-up. lästern ([ˈlɛstɐn]) and listen ([ˈlɪstn̩]) 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 37649, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lästern is recorded at frequency rank #31,671, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛstɐn]. listen is at rank #5,978, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɪstn̩].
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 37649, this pair ranks #1,584,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lästern vs listen
Shared letters: elnst. Private to "lästern": rä. Private to "listen": i.
"lästern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "listen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- listen ← ilsten · lisetn · lissten · listenn · listne · listten · litsen · llisten
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lästern" and "listen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lästern" vs "listen" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lästern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "listen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,584,641 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lästern" and "listen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lasern vs lästern". 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 #1,584,641 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.