Which to use
“legte” and “legten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,977
- “legte” frequency rank
- #8,746
- “legten” frequency rank
- 10723
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | legte | legten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs legen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs legen |
Where the eye mixes legte and legten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. legte runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against legten's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between legte and legten
A purely visual mix-up. legte ([ˈleːktə]) and legten ([ˈleːktn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “legte” sits inside “legten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10723, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
legte is recorded at frequency rank #1,977, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːktə]. legten is at rank #8,746, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈleːktn̩].
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 10723, this pair ranks #1,973,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of legte vs legten
Shared letters: eglt. Private to "legte": -. Private to "legten": n.
"legte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "legten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "legte" and "legten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "legte" or "legten"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "legte" and "legten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "legte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "legten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,973,647 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "legte" and "legten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "legten 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 #1,973,647 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.