Which to use
“leichten” is an adjective and “leuchten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,630
- “leichten” frequency rank
- #8,244
- “leuchten” frequency rank
- 12874
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leichten | leuchten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs leicht | Licht aussenden |
Where the eye mixes leichten and leuchten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. leichten and leuchten follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses leichten with leuchten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leichten is [ˈlaɪ̯çtn̩] while leuchten is [ˈlɔɪ̯çtn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “leichten” becomes u in “leuchten”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12874, 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]. leuchten is at rank #8,244, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɔɪ̯çtn̩].
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 12874, this pair ranks #1,961,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leichten vs leuchten
Shared letters: cehlnt. Private to "leichten": i. Private to "leuchten": u.
"leichten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC · "leuchten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "leichten" for "leuchten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "leichten" vs "leuchten" - which ranks higher?
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 "leuchten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,961,494 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leichten" and "leuchten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leuchten vs leuchtete". 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 #1,961,494 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.