Which to use
“lehnten” and “lernten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,213
- “lehnten” frequency rank
- #13,649
- “lernten” frequency rank
- 36862
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehnten | lernten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum des Verbs lehnen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lernen |
Where the eye mixes lehnten and lernten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lehnten vs lernten
A purely visual mix-up. lehnten ([ˈleːntn̩]) and lernten ([ˈlɛʁntn̩]) 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 a single letter - h in “lehnten” becomes r in “lernten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36862, 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]. lernten is at rank #13,649, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛʁntn̩].
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 36862, this pair ranks #1,604,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lehnten vs lernten
Shared letters: elnt. Private to "lehnten": h. Private to "lernten": r.
"lehnten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC · "lernten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lehnten" for "lernten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lehnten" or "lernten"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lehnten" and "lernten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lehnten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lernten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,604,832 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehnten" and "lernten" 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 #1,604,832 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.