Which to use
“lecken” is a verb and “Lesben” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,906
- “lecken” frequency rank
- #8,241
- “Lesben” frequency rank
- 17147
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lecken | Lesben |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit der Zunge an einer Oberfläche herumfahren | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Lesbe |
Where the eye mixes lecken and Lesben
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lecken and Lesben follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses lecken with Lesben
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lecken is [ˈlɛkn̩] while Lesben is [ˈlɛsbn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17147, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lecken is recorded at frequency rank #8,906, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛkn̩]. Lesben is at rank #8,241, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛsbn̩].
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 17147, this pair ranks #1,929,955 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lecken vs Lesben
Shared letters: eln. Private to "lecken": ck. Private to "Lesben": bs.
"lecken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Lesben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lecken" for "Lesben" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "lecken" or "Lesben" show up more?
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 "lecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Lesben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,929,955 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lecken" and "Lesben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lecken 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 #1,929,955 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.