Which to use
“lebten” and “leiten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,863
- “lebten” frequency rank
- #5,101
- “leiten” frequency rank
- 10964
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lebten | leiten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leben | die Führung ausüben |
Where the eye mixes lebten and leiten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lebten (CVCCVC) and leiten (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between lebten and leiten
A purely visual mix-up. lebten ([ˈleːptn̩]) and leiten ([ˈlaɪ̯tn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - b in “lebten” becomes i in “leiten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10964, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lebten is recorded at frequency rank #5,863, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːptn̩]. leiten is at rank #5,101, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯tn̩].
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 10964, this pair ranks #1,972,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lebten vs leiten
Shared letters: elnt. Private to "lebten": b. Private to "leiten": i.
"lebten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "leiten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lebten" and "leiten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "lebten" or "leiten"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lebten" and "leiten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lebten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leiten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,972,403 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lebten" and "leiten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lebten vs lenzen". 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 #1,972,403 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.