lehrenvsLehrerinWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lehren is a verb, Lehrerin is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lehren” is a verb and “Lehrerin” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,323
“lehren” frequency rank
#4,445
“Lehrerin” frequency rank
10768
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lehren Lehrerin
Definition jemandem etwas (Lehrstoff, Wissen, Fertigkeiten, …) vermitteln, beibringen; jemanden in etwas unterrichten, unterweisen Vermittlerin von Wissen, die im Allgemeinen auch mit einem Erziehungsauftrag ausgestattet ist

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lehren and Lehrerin apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
lehren
8 ch
Lehrerin

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lehren is [ˈleːʁən] while Lehrerin is [ˈleːʁəʁɪn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10768, 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]. Lehrerin is at rank #4,445, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈleːʁəʁɪn].

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 10768, this pair ranks #1,973,409 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lehren vs Lehrerin

Shared letters: ehlnr. Private to "lehren": -. Private to "Lehrerin": i.

"lehren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Lehrerin" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lehrenelhren · lehern · lehhren · lehrenn · lehrne · lehrren · lerhen · lheren
  • Lehrerinelhrerin · leherrin · lehhrerin · lehreirn · lehrerinn · lehrerni · lehrerrin · lehrrein

Frequency comparison

lehren#6,323
Lehrerin#4,445

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lehren" and "Lehrerin" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lehren" is a verb and "Lehrerin" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lehren" or "Lehrerin"?
"Lehrerin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,445 in our German list, against #6,323 for "lehren". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lehren vs Lehrerin

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lehren”; for a noun, it's “Lehrerin”.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list