leisenvslosenConfusable pair

Quick tell: leisen is a adjective, losen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leisen” is an adjective and “losen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,323
“leisen” frequency rank
#22,422
“losen” frequency rank
42745
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leisen losen
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs leise eine Entscheidung per Los herbeiführen

Where the eye mixes leisen and losen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
leisen
5 ch
losen

Why the eye confuses leisen with losen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leisen is [ˈlaɪ̯zn̩] while losen is [ˈloːzn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42745, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leisen is recorded at frequency rank #20,323, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯zn̩]. losen is at rank #22,422, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈloːzn̩].

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 42745, this pair ranks #1,439,818 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leisen vs losen

Shared letters: elns. Private to "leisen": i. Private to "losen": o.

"leisen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "losen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leisenelisen · leiesn · leisenn · leisne · leissen · lesien · liesen · lleisen
  • losenllosen · loesn · losenn · losne · lossen · lsoen · olsen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leisen" and "losen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leisen" is an adjective and "losen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "leisen" vs "losen" - which ranks higher?
"leisen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,323 in our German list, against #22,422 for "losen". 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 "leisen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "losen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,439,818 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "leisen" and "losen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lasern vs losen". 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 #1,439,818 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