lehnenvslehntWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#9,403
“lehnen” frequency rank
#6,557
“lehnt” frequency rank
15960
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lehnen lehnt
Definition den Körper schräg stellen 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lehnen

Where the eye mixes lehnen and lehnt

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
lehnen
5 ch
lehnt

Look-alike desk: lehnen vs lehnt

A purely visual mix-up. lehnen ([ˈleːnən]) and lehnt ([leːnt]) 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 15960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lehnen is recorded at frequency rank #9,403, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːnən]. lehnt is at rank #6,557, tagged as averb, pronounced [leːnt].

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 15960, this pair ranks #1,939,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lehnen vs lehnt

Shared letters: ehln. Private to "lehnen": -. Private to "lehnt": t.

"lehnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "lehnt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lehnenelhnen · lehenn · lehhnen · lehnenn · lehnne · lehnnen · lenhen · lhenen
  • lehntelhnt · lehhnt · lehnnt · lehntt · lehtn · lenht · lhent · llehnt

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lehnen" and "lehnt" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈleːnən] versus [leːnt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lehnen" or "lehnt"?
"lehnt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,557 in our German list, against #9,403 for "lehnen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "lehnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lehnt" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,939,776 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lehnen" and "lehnt" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lehnen vs lenzen". 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 #1,939,776 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