Which to use
“lehren” is a verb and “lehrende” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,323
- “lehren” frequency rank
- #40,668
- “lehrende” frequency rank
- 46991
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehren | lehrende |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem etwas (Lehrstoff, Wissen, Fertigkeiten, …) vermitteln, beibringen; jemanden in etwas unterrichten, unterweisen | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lehrend |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lehren and lehrende apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lehren is [ˈleːʁən] while lehrende is [ˈleːʁəndə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “lehren” sits inside “lehrende”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46991, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lehren is recorded at frequency rank #6,323, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːʁən]. lehrende is at rank #40,668, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈleːʁəndə].
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 46991, this pair ranks #1,299,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lehren vs lehrende
Shared letters: ehlnr. Private to "lehren": -. Private to "lehrende": d.
"lehren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lehrende" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lehren" and "lehrende" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lehren" or "lehrende"?
Remembering lehren vs lehrende
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lehren”; for an adjective, it's “lehrende”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lehren” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable