Which to use
“lehnen” and “lenzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,403
- “lehnen” frequency rank
- #49,051
- “lenzen” frequency rank
- 58454
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehnen | lenzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | den Körper schräg stellen | Wasser aus einem Boots- oder Schiffskörper entfernen |
Where the eye mixes lehnen and lenzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lehnen and lenzen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: lehnen vs lenzen
A purely visual mix-up. lehnen ([ˈleːnən]) and lenzen ([ˈlɛnt͡sn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58454, 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]. lenzen is at rank #49,051, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛnt͡sn̩].
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 58454, this pair ranks #862,154 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lehnen vs lenzen
Shared letters: eln. Private to "lehnen": h. Private to "lenzen": z.
"lehnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lenzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lehnen" for "lenzen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lehnen" vs "lenzen" - 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 "lehnen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lenzen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #862,154 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehnen" and "lenzen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lenzen vs letten". 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 #862,154 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.