legtenvsleitetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#8,746
“legten” frequency rank
#4,137
“leitet” frequency rank
12883
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature legten leitet
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs legen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leiten

Where the eye mixes legten and leitet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. legten (CVCCVC) and leitet (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
legten
6 ch
leitet

Visual trap between legten and leitet

A purely visual mix-up. legten ([ˈleːktn̩]) and leitet ([ˈlaɪ̯tət]) 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 12883, 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]. leitet is at rank #4,137, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯tət].

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 12883, this pair ranks #1,961,437 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of legten vs leitet

Shared letters: elt. Private to "legten": gn. Private to "leitet": i.

"legten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "leitet" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • legten ← elgten · legetn · leggten · legtenn · legtne · legtten · letgen · lgeten
  • leitet ← elitet · leiett · leitett · leitte · leittet · letiet · lietet · lleitet

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "legten" and "leitet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːktn̩] versus [ˈlaɪ̯tət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "legten" or "leitet" show up more?
"leitet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,137 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

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "legten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leitet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,961,437 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "legten" and "leitet" 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 #1,961,437 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