Which to use
“leisten” and “leistete” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,397
- “leisten” frequency rank
- #11,918
- “leistete” frequency rank
- 13315
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leisten | leistete |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich selbst etwas Gutes tun, sich etwas gönnen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leisten |
Where the eye mixes leisten and leistete
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. leisten runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against leistete's 8 (CVVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses leisten with leistete
A purely visual mix-up. leisten ([ˈlaɪ̯stn̩]) and leistete ([ˈlaɪ̯stətə]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leisten is recorded at frequency rank #1,397, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯stn̩]. leistete is at rank #11,918, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯stətə].
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 13315, this pair ranks #1,958,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leisten vs leistete
Shared letters: eilst. Private to "leisten": n. Private to "leistete": -.
"leisten" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "leistete" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "leisten" and "leistete" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "leisten" vs "leistete" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "leisten" and "leistete" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "leisten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leistete" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,958,757 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leisten" and "leistete" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leisten vs letten". 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 #1,958,757 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.