Which to use
“lehnte” and “lerne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,084
- “lehnte” frequency rank
- #6,215
- “lerne” frequency rank
- 13299
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehnte | lerne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lehnen | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lernen |
Where the eye mixes lehnte and lerne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lehnte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against lerne's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lehnte with lerne
A purely visual mix-up. lehnte ([ˈleːntə]) and lerne ([ˈlɛʁnə]) 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 13299, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lehnte is recorded at frequency rank #7,084, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːntə]. lerne is at rank #6,215, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛʁnə].
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 13299, this pair ranks #1,958,865 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lehnte vs lerne
Shared letters: eln. Private to "lehnte": ht. Private to "lerne": r.
"lehnte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "lerne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lehnte" and "lerne" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lehnte" vs "lerne" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lehnte" and "lerne" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lehnte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lerne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,865 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehnte" and "lerne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lerche vs lerne". 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 #1,958,865 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.