leichtemvsleichtereConfusable pair

Which to use

“leichtem” and “leichtere” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#21,676
“leichtem” frequency rank
#24,816
“leichtere” frequency rank
46492
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leichtem leichtere
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs leicht Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Komparativs des Adjektivs leicht

Where the eye mixes leichtem and leichtere

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. leichtem runs 8 letters (CVVCCCVC) against leichtere's 9 (CVVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
leichtem
9 ch
leichtere

Visual trap between leichtem and leichtere

A purely visual mix-up. leichtem ([ˈlaɪ̯çtəm]) and leichtere ([ˈlaɪ̯çtəʁə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46492, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leichtem is recorded at frequency rank #21,676, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯çtəm]. leichtere is at rank #24,816, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯çtəʁə].

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 46492, this pair ranks #1,317,212 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leichtem vs leichtere

Shared letters: cehilt. Private to "leichtem": m. Private to "leichtere": r.

"leichtem" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC  ·  "leichtere" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leichtem ← elichtem · lecihtem · leicchtem · leichetm · leichhtem · leichtemm · leichtme · leichttem
  • leichtere ← elichtere · lecihtere · leicchtere · leichetre · leichhtere · leichteer · leichterre · leichtree

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "leichtem" and "leichtere" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaɪ̯çtəm] versus [ˈlaɪ̯çtəʁə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "leichtem" or "leichtere" show up more?
"leichtem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,676 in our German list, against #24,816 for "leichtere". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "leichtem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leichtere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,317,212 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "leichtem" and "leichtere" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leichtere vs leichteste". 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 #1,317,212 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list