LehenvsLehrernConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#20,321
“Lehen” frequency rank
#7,786
“Lehrern” frequency rank
28107
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lehen Lehrern
Definition etwas Geliehenes (auch feminin) Dativ Plural des Substantivs Lehrer

Where the eye mixes Lehen and Lehrern

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Lehen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Lehrern's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Lehen
7 ch
Lehrern

Look-alike desk: Lehen vs Lehrern

A purely visual mix-up. Lehen ([ˈleːən]) and Lehrern ([ˈleːʁɐn]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28107, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lehen is recorded at frequency rank #20,321, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːən]. Lehrern is at rank #7,786, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːʁɐn].

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 28107, this pair ranks #1,790,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lehen vs Lehrern

Shared letters: ehln. Private to "Lehen": -. Private to "Lehrern": r.

"Lehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Lehrern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lehen ← elhen · leehn · lehhen · lheen · llehen
  • Lehrern ← elhrern · leherrn · lehhrern · lehrenr · lehrernn · lehrerrn · lehrrern · lerhern

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Lehen" for "Lehrern" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːən] versus [ˈleːʁɐn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Lehen" or "Lehrern" show up more?
"Lehrern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,786 in our German list, against #20,321 for "Lehen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lehrern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,790,427 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lehen" and "Lehrern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lehen 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 #1,790,427 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