Which to use
“leiten” and “lösten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,101
- “leiten” frequency rank
- #18,977
- “lösten” frequency rank
- 24078
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leiten | lösten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | die Führung ausüben | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lösen |
Where the eye mixes leiten and lösten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: leiten vs lösten
A purely visual mix-up. leiten ([ˈlaɪ̯tn̩]) and lösten ([ˈløːstn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24078, 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]. lösten is at rank #18,977, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈløːstn̩].
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 24078, this pair ranks #1,852,660 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leiten vs lösten
Shared letters: elnt. Private to "leiten": i. Private to "lösten": sö.
"leiten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "lösten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- leiten ← leietn · leitenn · leitne · leitten · letien · lieten · lleiten
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "leiten" for "lösten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "leiten" vs "lösten" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "leiten" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lösten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,852,660 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leiten" and "lösten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Loses vs lösten". 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 #1,852,660 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.