lehnvslemonWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lehn is a verb, lemon is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lehn” is a verb and “lemon” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,238
“lehn” frequency rank
#32,151
“lemon” frequency rank
66389
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lehn lemon
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lehnen Zitrone

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lehn and lemon apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lehn
5 ch
lemon

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: lehn is averb and lemonanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66389, 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]. lemon is at rank #32,151, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 66389, this pair ranks #574,980 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lehn vs lemon

Shared letters: eln. Private to "lehn": h. Private to "lemon": mo.

"lehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lemon" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lehnelhn · lehhn · lehnn · lenh · lhen · llehn
  • lemonelmon · lemmon · lemno · lemonn · leomn · llemon · lmeon

Frequency comparison

lehn#34,238
lemon#32,151

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lehn" and "lemon" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lehn" is a verb and "lemon" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lehn" or "lemon"?
"lemon" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,151 in our German list, against #34,238 for "lehn". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lehn vs lemon

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lehn”; for a noun, it's “lemon”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lehn” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list