LattenvsleitenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Latten is a noun, leiten is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Latten” is a noun and “leiten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,309
“Latten” frequency rank
#5,101
“leiten” frequency rank
46410
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Latten leiten
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Latte die Führung ausüben

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Latten and leiten apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Latten
6 ch
leiten

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Latten is [ˈlatn̩] while leiten is [ˈlaɪ̯tn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Latten is recorded at frequency rank #41,309, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlatn̩]. leiten is at rank #5,101, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯tn̩].

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 46410, this pair ranks #1,320,081 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Latten vs leiten

Shared letters: elnt. Private to "Latten": a. Private to "leiten": i.

"Latten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "leiten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lattenlattenn · lattne · llatten · ltaten
  • leitenleietn · leitenn · leitne · leitten · letien · lieten · lleiten

Frequency comparison

Latten#41,309
leiten#5,101

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Latten" and "leiten" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Latten" is a noun and "leiten" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Latten" or "leiten"?
"leiten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,101 in our German list, against #41,309 for "Latten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Latten vs leiten

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Latten”; for a verb, it's “leiten”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Latten” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list