LeitervsLeiterinTell them apart

Which to use

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

#1,637
“Leiter” frequency rank
#10,514
“Leiterin” frequency rank
12151
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Leiter Leiterin
Definition Person, die etwas leitet beziehungsweise als verantwortlicher Vorgesetzter in leitender Position steht weibliche Person, die in leitender Funktion tätig ist

Where the eye mixes Leiter and Leiterin

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

6 ch
Leiter
8 ch
Leiterin

Look-alike desk: Leiter vs Leiterin

A purely visual mix-up. Leiter ([ˈlaɪ̯tɐ]) and Leiterin ([ˈlaɪ̯təʁɪn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Leiter” sits inside “Leiterin”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Leiter is recorded at frequency rank #1,637, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯tɐ]. Leiterin is at rank #10,514, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯təʁɪn].

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 12151, this pair ranks #1,965,885 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Leiter vs Leiterin

Shared letters: eilrt. Private to "Leiter": -. Private to "Leiterin": n.

"Leiter" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "Leiterin" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leiter ← eliter · leietr · leiterr · leitre · leitter · letier · lieter · lleiter
  • Leiterin ← eliterin · leietrin · leiteirn · leiterinn · leiterni · leiterrin · leitrein · leitterin

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Leiter" and "Leiterin" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaɪ̯tɐ] versus [ˈlaɪ̯təʁɪn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Leiter" or "Leiterin"?
"Leiter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,637 in our German list, against #10,514 for "Leiterin". 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 "Leiter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Leiterin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,965,885 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Leiter" and "Leiterin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Leiterin vs Leserin". 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 #1,965,885 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