Which to use
“lehren” and “leiden” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,323
- “lehren” frequency rank
- #1,776
- “leiden” frequency rank
- 8099
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lehren | leiden |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jemandem etwas (Lehrstoff, Wissen, Fertigkeiten, …) vermitteln, beibringen; jemanden in etwas unterrichten, unterweisen | starke psychische oder physische Schmerzen verspüren |
Where the eye mixes lehren and leiden
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lehren with leiden
A purely visual mix-up. lehren ([ˈleːʁən]) and leiden ([ˈlaɪ̯dn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8099, 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]. leiden is at rank #1,776, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯dn̩].
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 8099, this pair ranks #1,985,640 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lehren vs leiden
Shared letters: eln. Private to "lehren": hr. Private to "leiden": di.
"lehren" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "leiden" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lehren" for "leiden" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lehren" vs "leiden" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lehren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leiden" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,985,640 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lehren" and "leiden" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lehren 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 #1,985,640 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.