Which to use
“lehn” and “leihe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,238
- “lehn” frequency rank
- #27,394
- “leihe” frequency rank
- 61632
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehn | leihe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lehnen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leihen |
Where the eye mixes lehn and leihe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lehn runs 4 letters (CVCC) against leihe's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lehn vs leihe
A purely visual mix-up. lehn ([leːn]) and leihe ([ˈlaɪ̯ə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61632, 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]. leihe is at rank #27,394, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯ə].
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 61632, this pair ranks #742,463 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lehn vs leihe
Shared letters: ehl. Private to "lehn": n. Private to "leihe": i.
"lehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "leihe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lehn" and "leihe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "lehn" or "leihe" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lehn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leihe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #742,463 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehn" and "leihe" 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 #742,463 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.