Which to use
“Lehen” is a noun and “lenzen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,321
- “Lehen” frequency rank
- #49,051
- “lenzen” frequency rank
- 69372
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lehen | lenzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas Geliehenes (auch feminin) | Wasser aus einem Boots- oder Schiffskörper entfernen |
Where the eye mixes Lehen and lenzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Lehen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against lenzen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Lehen with lenzen
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lehen is [ˈleːən] while lenzen is [ˈlɛnt͡sn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69372, 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]. lenzen is at rank #49,051, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛnt͡sn̩].
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 69372, this pair ranks #478,642 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Lehen vs lenzen
Shared letters: eln. Private to "Lehen": h. Private to "lenzen": z.
"Lehen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "lenzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Lehen" and "lenzen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Lehen" or "lenzen" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Lehen" and "lenzen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lehen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lenzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #478,642 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lehen" and "lenzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lenzen vs letten". 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 #478,642 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.