Which to use
“leihe” and “lerne” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,394
- “leihe” frequency rank
- #6,215
- “lerne” frequency rank
- 33609
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leihe | lerne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leihen | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lernen |
Where the eye mixes leihe and lerne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. leihe (CVVCV) and lerne (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: leihe vs lerne
A purely visual mix-up. leihe ([ˈlaɪ̯ə]) and lerne ([ˈlɛʁnə]) 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 33609, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leihe is recorded at frequency rank #27,394, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯ə]. lerne is at rank #6,215, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛʁnə].
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 33609, this pair ranks #1,682,074 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leihe vs lerne
Shared letters: el. Private to "leihe": hi. Private to "lerne": nr.
"leihe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "lerne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "leihe" and "lerne" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "leihe" or "lerne"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "leihe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lerne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,682,074 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leihe" and "lerne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Leibes vs leihe". 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 #1,682,074 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.