Which to use
“legte” and “lenkte” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,977
- “legte” frequency rank
- #23,217
- “lenkte” frequency rank
- 25194
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | legte | lenkte |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs legen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lenken |
Where the eye mixes legte and lenkte
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses legte with lenkte
A purely visual mix-up. legte ([ˈleːktə]) and lenkte ([ˈlɛŋktə]) 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 25194, 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]. lenkte is at rank #23,217, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛŋktə].
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 25194, this pair ranks #1,836,793 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of legte vs lenkte
Shared letters: elt. Private to "legte": g. Private to "lenkte": kn.
"legte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "lenkte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "legte" and "lenkte" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "legte" or "lenkte"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "legte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lenkte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,836,793 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "legte" and "lenkte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leckte vs lenkte". 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 #1,836,793 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.