leichtenvsleichterTell them apart

Which to use

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

#4,630
“leichten” frequency rank
#1,853
“leichter” frequency rank
6483
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leichten leichter
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs leicht Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs leicht

Where the eye mixes leichten and leichter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

8 ch
leichten
8 ch
leichter

Visual trap between leichten and leichter

A purely visual mix-up. leichten ([ˈlaɪ̯çtn̩]) and leichter ([ˈlaɪ̯çtɐ]) 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 a single letter - n in “leichten” becomes r in “leichter”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6483, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leichten is recorded at frequency rank #4,630, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯çtn̩]. leichter is at rank #1,853, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯çtɐ].

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 6483, this pair ranks #1,991,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of leichten vs leichter

Shared letters: cehilt. Private to "leichten": n. Private to "leichter": r.

"leichten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC  ·  "leichter" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leichtenelichten · lecihten · leicchten · leichetn · leichhten · leichtenn · leichtne · leichtten
  • leichterelichter · lecihter · leicchter · leichetr · leichhter · leichterr · leichtre · leichtter

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leichten" and "leichter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaɪ̯çtn̩] versus [ˈlaɪ̯çtɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "leichten" or "leichter"?
"leichter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,853 in our German list, against #4,630 for "leichten". 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 "leichten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leichter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,991,490 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "leichten" and "leichter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leichten 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 #1,991,490 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