Which to use
“legten” is a verb and “Lettern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,746
- “legten” frequency rank
- #35,889
- “Lettern” frequency rank
- 44635
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | legten | Lettern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs legen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Letter |
Where the eye mixes legten and Lettern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. legten runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Lettern's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses legten with Lettern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: legten is [ˈleːktn̩] while Lettern is [ˈlɛtɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44635, 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]. Lettern is at rank #35,889, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛtɐn].
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 44635, this pair ranks #1,379,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of legten vs Lettern
Shared letters: elnt. Private to "legten": g. Private to "Lettern": r.
"legten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Lettern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "legten" for "Lettern" ever safe?
Which is more common, "legten" or "Lettern"?
After this comparison
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 "Lettern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,379,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "legten" and "Lettern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "letten vs Lettern". 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 #1,379,777 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.