Which to use
“lehnten” and “lenzen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,213
- “lehnten” frequency rank
- #49,051
- “lenzen” frequency rank
- 72264
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehnten | lenzen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs lehnen | Wasser aus einem Boots- oder Schiffskörper entfernen |
Where the eye mixes lehnten and lenzen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lehnten runs 7 letters (CVCCCVC) against lenzen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lehnten and lenzen
A purely visual mix-up. lehnten ([ˈleːntn̩]) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lehnten is recorded at frequency rank #23,213, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːntn̩]. 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 72264, this pair ranks #393,155 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lehnten vs lenzen
Shared letters: eln. Private to "lehnten": ht. Private to "lenzen": z.
"lehnten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "lenzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lehnten" and "lenzen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lehnten" vs "lenzen" - which ranks higher?
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 "lehnten" 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 #393,155 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehnten" 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 #393,155 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.