lehnvslohWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“lehn” and “loh” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,238
“lehn” frequency rank
#44,776
“loh” frequency rank
79014
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lehn loh
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lehnen 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lohen

Where the eye mixes lehn and loh

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lehn runs 4 letters (CVCC) against loh's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
lehn
3 ch
loh

Visual trap between lehn and loh

A purely visual mix-up. lehn ([leːn]) and loh ([loː]) 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 79014, 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]. loh is at rank #44,776, tagged as averb, pronounced [loː].

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 79014, this pair ranks #225,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lehn vs loh

Shared letters: hl. Private to "lehn": en. Private to "loh": o.

"lehn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "loh" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lehn ← elhn · lehhn · lehnn · lenh · lhen · llehn

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lehn" and "loh" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([leːn] versus [loː]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lehn" or "loh"?
"lehn" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,238 in our German list, against #44,776 for "loh". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "loh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #225,615 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lehn" and "loh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loh vs Lori". 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 #225,615 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list