lecktevsLichteConfusable pair

Quick tell: leckte is a verb, Lichte is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leckte” is a verb and “Lichte” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,504
“leckte” frequency rank
#18,319
“Lichte” frequency rank
57823
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leckte Lichte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lecken deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname

Where the eye mixes leckte and Lichte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
leckte
6 ch
Lichte

Visual trap between leckte and Lichte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leckte is [ˈlɛktə] while Lichte is [ˈlɪçtə]. 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 name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57823, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leckte is recorded at frequency rank #39,504, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛktə]. Lichte is at rank #18,319, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈlɪçtə].

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 57823, this pair ranks #886,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leckte vs Lichte

Shared letters: celt. Private to "leckte": k. Private to "Lichte": hi.

"leckte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "Lichte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leckteelckte · lcekte · lecckte · lecket · leckkte · lecktte · lectke · lekcte
  • Lichteilchte · lcihte · licchte · lichet · lichhte · lichtte · licthe · lihcte

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "leckte" for "Lichte" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leckte" is a verb and "Lichte" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leckte" or "Lichte"?
"Lichte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,319 in our German list, against #39,504 for "leckte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "leckte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lichte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #886,411 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "leckte" and "Lichte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lacke vs leckte". 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 #886,411 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