Which to use
“leeren” and “letzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,198
- “leeren” frequency rank
- #20,655
- “letzen” frequency rank
- 25853
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leeren | letzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Inhalt verbrauchen oder entfernen | sich erquicken |
Where the eye mixes leeren and letzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. leeren (CVVCVC) and letzen (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between leeren and letzen
A purely visual mix-up. leeren ([ˈleːʁən]) and letzen ([ˈlɛt͡sn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leeren is recorded at frequency rank #5,198, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːʁən]. letzen is at rank #20,655, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛt͡sn̩].
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 25853, this pair ranks #1,827,023 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leeren vs letzen
Shared letters: eln. Private to "leeren": r. Private to "letzen": tz.
"leeren" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "letzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "leeren" and "letzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "leeren" or "letzen" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "leeren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "letzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,827,023 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leeren" and "letzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Laatzen vs letzen". 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 #1,827,023 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.