legtenvslehrenConfusable pair

Which to use

“legten” and “lehren” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,746
“legten” frequency rank
#6,323
“lehren” frequency rank
15069
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature legten lehren
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs legen jemandem etwas (Lehrstoff, Wissen, Fertigkeiten, …) vermitteln, beibringen; jemanden in etwas unterrichten, unterweisen

Where the eye mixes legten and lehren

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

6 ch
legten
6 ch
lehren

Look-alike desk: legten vs lehren

A purely visual mix-up. legten ([ˈleːktn̩]) and lehren ([ˈleːʁən]) 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 15069, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

legten is recorded at frequency rank #8,746, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːktn̩]. lehren is at rank #6,323, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈleːʁən].

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 15069, this pair ranks #1,946,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of legten vs lehren

Shared letters: eln. Private to "legten": gt. Private to "lehren": hr.

"legten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "lehren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • legtenelgten · legetn · leggten · legtenn · legtne · legtten · letgen · lgeten
  • lehrenelhren · lehern · lehhren · lehrenn · lehrne · lehrren · lerhen · lheren

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "legten" and "lehren" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːktn̩] versus [ˈleːʁən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "legten" or "lehren"?
"lehren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,323 in our German list, against #8,746 for "legten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "legten" and "lehren" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "legten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lehren" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,946,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "legten" and "lehren" 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 #1,946,623 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