Which to use
“lebende” is an adjective and “Legende” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,690
- “lebende” frequency rank
- #4,287
- “Legende” frequency rank
- 10977
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lebende | Legende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs lebend | Erzählung über Begebenheiten, Leben und Tod von Personen, in erhöhender Weise – ähnlich der Sage oder dem Mythos |
Where the eye mixes lebende and Legende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lebende and Legende
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lebende is [ˈleːbn̩də] while Legende is [leˈɡɛndə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “lebende” becomes g in “Legende”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10977, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lebende is recorded at frequency rank #6,690, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈleːbn̩də]. Legende is at rank #4,287, tagged as anoun, pronounced [leˈɡɛndə].
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 10977, this pair ranks #1,972,329 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lebende vs Legende
Shared letters: deln. Private to "lebende": b. Private to "Legende": g.
"lebende" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "Legende" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lebende" and "Legende" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lebende" vs "Legende" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lebende" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Legende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,972,329 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lebende" and "Legende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lebende vs leidende". 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 #1,972,329 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.