Which to use
“lehnt” and “lehnten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,557
- “lehnt” frequency rank
- #23,213
- “lehnten” frequency rank
- 29770
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehnt | lehnten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lehnen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs lehnen |
Where the eye mixes lehnt and lehnten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lehnt runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against lehnten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lehnt with lehnten
A purely visual mix-up. lehnt ([leːnt]) and lehnten ([ˈleːntn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “lehnt” sits inside “lehnten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29770, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lehnt is recorded at frequency rank #6,557, classified as averb, pronounced [leːnt]. lehnten is at rank #23,213, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈleːntn̩].
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 29770, this pair ranks #1,760,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lehnt vs lehnten
Shared letters: ehlnt. Private to "lehnt": -. Private to "lehnten": -.
"lehnt" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "lehnten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lehnt" for "lehnten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lehnt" vs "lehnten" - 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 "lehnt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lehnten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,760,639 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehnt" and "lehnten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lehnten 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 #1,760,639 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.