Which to use
“lebte” is a verb and “letzte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,756
- “lebte” frequency rank
- #452
- “letzte” frequency rank
- 4208
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lebte | letzte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leben | in einer Reihe oder Folge auf dem einzigen Platz ohne Nachfolger sich befindend |
Where the eye mixes lebte and letzte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lebte and letzte
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lebte is [ˈleːptə] while letzte is [ˈlɛt͡stə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4208, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lebte is recorded at frequency rank #3,756, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːptə]. letzte is at rank #452, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlɛt͡stə].
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 4208, this pair ranks #1,998,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lebte vs letzte
Shared letters: elt. Private to "lebte": b. Private to "letzte": z.
"lebte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "letzte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lebte" and "letzte" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lebte" vs "letzte" - 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 "lebte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "letzte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,998,306 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lebte" and "letzte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lebte vs Lübke". 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 #1,998,306 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.