leistetevsleitetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“leistete” and “leitet” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,918
“leistete” frequency rank
#4,137
“leitet” frequency rank
16055
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leistete leitet
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leisten 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs leiten

Where the eye mixes leistete and leitet

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. leistete runs 8 letters (CVVCCVCV) against leitet's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
leistete
6 ch
leitet

Look-alike desk: leistete vs leitet

A purely visual mix-up. leistete ([ˈlaɪ̯stətə]) and leitet ([ˈlaɪ̯tət]) 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 16055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leistete is recorded at frequency rank #11,918, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯stətə]. leitet is at rank #4,137, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯tət].

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 16055, this pair ranks #1,938,970 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of leistete vs leitet

Shared letters: eilt. Private to "leistete": s. Private to "leitet": -.

"leistete" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCV  ·  "leitet" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leistete ← elistete · leisette · leisstete · leisteet · leistette · leisttee · leisttete · leitsete
  • leitet ← elitet · leiett · leitett · leitte · leittet · letiet · lietet · lleitet

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leistete" and "leitet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaɪ̯stətə] versus [ˈlaɪ̯tət]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "leistete" or "leitet"?
"leitet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,137 in our German list, against #11,918 for "leistete". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "leistete" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leitet" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,938,970 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "leistete" and "leitet" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Leibes vs leitet". 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 #1,938,970 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