Which to use
“lecken” and “lockern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,906
- “lecken” frequency rank
- #23,223
- “lockern” frequency rank
- 32129
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lecken | lockern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mit der Zunge an einer Oberfläche herumfahren | locker machen |
Where the eye mixes lecken and lockern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lecken vs lockern
A purely visual mix-up. lecken ([ˈlɛkn̩]) and lockern ([ˈlɔkɐn]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32129, 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]. lockern is at rank #23,223, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɔkɐn].
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 32129, this pair ranks #1,714,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lecken vs lockern
Shared letters: cekln. Private to "lecken": -. Private to "lockern": or.
"lecken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lockern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lecken" and "lockern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "lecken" or "lockern" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lecken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lockern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,714,089 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lecken" and "lockern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lockern vs lockert". 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 #1,714,089 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.