Which to use
“leiten” and “leiteten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,101
- “leiten” frequency rank
- #32,648
- “leiteten” frequency rank
- 37749
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leiten | leiteten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Führung ausüben | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leiten |
Where the eye mixes leiten and leiteten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. leiten runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against leiteten's 8 (CVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses leiten with leiteten
A purely visual mix-up. leiten ([ˈlaɪ̯tn̩]) and leiteten ([ˈlaɪ̯tətn̩]) 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 37749, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leiten is recorded at frequency rank #5,101, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯tn̩]. leiteten is at rank #32,648, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯tətn̩].
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 37749, this pair ranks #1,582,020 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leiten vs leiteten
Shared letters: eilnt. Private to "leiten": -. Private to "leiteten": -.
"leiten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "leiteten" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "leiten" for "leiteten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "leiten" vs "leiteten" - which ranks higher?
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 "leiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leiteten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,582,020 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leiten" and "leiteten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leiteten 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 #1,582,020 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.