learnvsleaveTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,237
“learn” frequency rank
#25,643
“leave” frequency rank
59880
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature learn leave
Definition lernen, Wissen erwerben von einem Ort weggehen; verlassen

Where the eye mixes learn and leave

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

5 ch
learn
5 ch
leave

Visual trap between learn and leave

A purely visual mix-up. learn ([lɝn]) and leave ([liːv]) 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 59880, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

learn is recorded at frequency rank #34,237, classified as averb, pronounced [lɝn]. leave is at rank #25,643, tagged as averb, pronounced [liːv].

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 59880, this pair ranks #807,902 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of learn vs leave

Shared letters: ael. Private to "learn": nr. Private to "leave": v.

"learn" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "leave" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • learnelarn · laern · leanr · learnn · learrn · leran · llearn
  • leaveelave · laeve · leaev · leavve · levae · lleave

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "learn" for "leave" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([lɝn] versus [liːv]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "learn" or "leave"?
"leave" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,643 in our German list, against #34,237 for "learn". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "learn" and "leave" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "learn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #807,902 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "learn" and "leave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "learn vs Lepra". 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 #807,902 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list