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 eye mixes lehren and lehrende
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. lehren runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against lehrende's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lehren with lehrende
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lehren" and "lehrende" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "lehren" or "lehrende" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lehrende" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,299,956 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehren" and "lehrende" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lehrende vs leidende". 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 #1,299,956 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.