LaunenvslehnenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#39,499
“Launen” frequency rank
#9,403
“lehnen” frequency rank
48902
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Launen lehnen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Laune den Körper schräg stellen

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
Launen
6 ch
lehnen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Launen is [ˈlaʊ̯nən] while lehnen is [ˈleːnən]. 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 48902, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Launen is recorded at frequency rank #39,499, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯nən]. lehnen is at rank #9,403, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈleːnən].

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 48902, this pair ranks #1,231,318 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Launen vs lehnen

Shared letters: eln. Private to "Launen": au. Private to "lehnen": h.

"Launen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "lehnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Launenalunen · lanuen · lauenn · launenn · launnen · llaunen · luanen
  • lehnenelhnen · lehenn · lehhnen · lehnenn · lehnne · lehnnen · lenhen · lhenen

Frequency comparison

Launen#39,499
lehnen#9,403

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Launen" and "lehnen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Launen" is a noun and "lehnen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Launen" or "lehnen"?
"lehnen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,403 in our German list, against #39,499 for "Launen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Launen vs lehnen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Launen”; for a verb, it's “lehnen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Launen” 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