Which to use
“lehn” and “lehnen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,238
- “lehn” frequency rank
- #9,403
- “lehnen” frequency rank
- 43641
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehn | lehnen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lehnen | den Körper schräg stellen |
Where the eye mixes lehn and lehnen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lehn runs 4 letters (CVCC) against lehnen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lehn vs lehnen
A purely visual mix-up. lehn ([leːn]) and lehnen ([ˈleːnən]) 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 extra letter(s) - “lehn” sits inside “lehnen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43641, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lehn is recorded at frequency rank #34,238, classified as averb, pronounced [leːn]. lehnen is at rank #9,403, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈleːnən].
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 43641, this pair ranks #1,411,592 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lehn vs lehnen
Shared letters: ehln. Private to "lehn": -. Private to "lehnen": -.
"lehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lehnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lehn" for "lehnen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lehn" or "lehnen"?
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 "lehn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lehnen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,411,592 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehn" and "lehnen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs lehn". 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 #1,411,592 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.