Which to use
“leisten” and “leisteten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,397
- “leisten” frequency rank
- #21,338
- “leisteten” frequency rank
- 22735
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leisten | leisteten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich selbst etwas Gutes tun, sich etwas gönnen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leisten |
Where the eye mixes leisten and leisteten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. leisten runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against leisteten's 9 (CVVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses leisten with leisteten
A purely visual mix-up. leisten ([ˈlaɪ̯stn̩]) and leisteten ([ˈlaɪ̯stətn̩]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22735, 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]. leisteten is at rank #21,338, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯stətn̩].
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 22735, this pair ranks #1,870,418 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leisten vs leisteten
Shared letters: eilnst. Private to "leisten": -. Private to "leisteten": -.
"leisten" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "leisteten" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "leisten" and "leisteten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "leisten" vs "leisteten" - which ranks higher?
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 "leisten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leisteten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,870,418 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leisten" and "leisteten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leisteten vs leiteten". 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 #1,870,418 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.