lebtvslernTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,136
“lebt” frequency rank
#11,472
“lern” frequency rank
12608
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lebt lern
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leben 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lernen

Where the eye mixes lebt and lern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lebt and lern follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

4 ch
lebt
4 ch
lern

Visual trap between lebt and lern

A purely visual mix-up. lebt ([leːpt]) and lern ([lɛʁn]) 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 12608, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lebt is recorded at frequency rank #1,136, classified as averb, pronounced [leːpt]. lern is at rank #11,472, tagged as averb, pronounced [lɛʁn].

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 12608, this pair ranks #1,963,153 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lebt vs lern

Shared letters: el. Private to "lebt": bt. Private to "lern": nr.

"lebt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lern" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lebt ← elbt · lbet · lebbt · lebtt · letb · llebt
  • lern ← elrn · lenr · lernn · lerrn · llern · lren

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lebt" for "lern" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([leːpt] versus [lɛʁn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lebt" vs "lern" - which ranks higher?
"lebt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,136 in our German list, against #11,472 for "lern". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lebt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,963,153 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lebt" and "lern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lasern vs lern". 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 #1,963,153 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