Which to use
“leisten” and “litten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,397
- “leisten” frequency rank
- #23,221
- “litten” frequency rank
- 24618
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leisten | litten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich selbst etwas Gutes tun, sich etwas gönnen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leiden |
Where the eye mixes leisten and litten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: leisten vs litten
A purely visual mix-up. leisten ([ˈlaɪ̯stn̩]) and litten ([ˈlɪtn̩]) 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 24618, 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]. litten is at rank #23,221, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɪtn̩].
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 24618, this pair ranks #1,845,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leisten vs litten
Shared letters: eilnt. Private to "leisten": s. Private to "litten": -.
"leisten" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "litten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "leisten" for "litten" ever safe?
Which is more common, "leisten" or "litten"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "leisten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "litten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,845,085 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leisten" and "litten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "letten vs litten". 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 #1,845,085 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.