Which to use
“lehn” and “leihen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,238
- “lehn” frequency rank
- #11,283
- “leihen” frequency rank
- 45521
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehn | leihen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lehnen | eine Sache einer anderen Person für begrenzte Zeit zur Verfügung stellen |
Where the eye mixes lehn and leihen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lehn vs leihen
A purely visual mix-up. lehn ([leːn]) and leihen ([ˈlaɪ̯ən]) 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 45521, 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]. leihen is at rank #11,283, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯ən].
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 45521, this pair ranks #1,350,195 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lehn vs leihen
Shared letters: ehln. Private to "lehn": -. Private to "leihen": i.
"lehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "leihen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lehn" and "leihen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lehn" vs "leihen" - which ranks higher?
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 "leihen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,350,195 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehn" and "leihen" 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 #1,350,195 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.