Which to use
“Leid” and “Lenz” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,263
- “Leid” frequency rank
- #11,920
- “Lenz” frequency rank
- 13183
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Leid | Lenz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | starker Kummer, starker psychischer oder seelischer Schmerz | die erste Jahreszeit, Frühling |
Where the eye mixes Leid and Lenz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Leid (CVVC) and Lenz (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Leid with Lenz
A purely visual mix-up. Leid ([laɪ̯t]) and Lenz ([lɛnt͡s]) 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 13183, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Leid is recorded at frequency rank #1,263, classified as anoun, pronounced [laɪ̯t]. Lenz is at rank #11,920, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lɛnt͡s].
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 13183, this pair ranks #1,959,593 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Leid vs Lenz
Shared letters: el. Private to "Leid": di. Private to "Lenz": nz.
"Leid" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "Lenz" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Leid" for "Lenz" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Leid" or "Lenz"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Leid" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Lenz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,959,593 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Leid" and "Lenz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lenz 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 #1,959,593 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.