leichtemvsLichteWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: leichtem is a adjective, Lichte is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leichtem” is an adjective and “Lichte” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,676
“leichtem” frequency rank
#18,319
“Lichte” frequency rank
39995
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leichtem Lichte
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs leicht deutschsprachiger Familienname, Nachname

Where the eye mixes leichtem and Lichte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
leichtem
6 ch
Lichte

Visual trap between leichtem and Lichte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leichtem is [ˈlaɪ̯çtəm] while Lichte is [ˈlɪçtə]. 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 (adjective vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39995, 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]. Lichte is at rank #18,319, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈlɪçtə].

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 39995, this pair ranks #1,521,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of leichtem vs Lichte

Shared letters: cehilt. Private to "leichtem": m. Private to "Lichte": -.

"leichtem" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC  ·  "Lichte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leichtemelichtem · lecihtem · leicchtem · leichetm · leichhtem · leichtemm · leichtme · leichttem
  • Lichteilchte · lcihte · licchte · lichet · lichhte · lichtte · licthe · lihcte

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leichtem" and "Lichte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leichtem" is an adjective and "Lichte" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "leichtem" vs "Lichte" - which ranks higher?
"Lichte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,319 in our German list, against #21,676 for "leichtem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "Lichte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,521,012 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "leichtem" and "Lichte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leichtem vs Leuchter". 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 #1,521,012 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