lenkvsLenkerWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: lenk is a verb, Lenker is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lenk” is a verb and “Lenker” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,396
“lenk” frequency rank
#16,479
“Lenker” frequency rank
43875
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lenk Lenker
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lenken Einrichtung zum Steuern eines Fahrzeuges

Where the eye mixes lenk and Lenker

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
lenk
6 ch
Lenker

Look-alike desk: lenk vs Lenker

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lenk is [lɛŋk] while Lenker is [ˈlɛŋkɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “lenk” sits inside “Lenker”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43875, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lenk is recorded at frequency rank #27,396, classified as averb, pronounced [lɛŋk]. Lenker is at rank #16,479, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛŋkɐ].

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 43875, this pair ranks #1,404,178 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lenk vs Lenker

Shared letters: ekln. Private to "lenk": -. Private to "Lenker": r.

"lenk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Lenker" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lenkelnk · lekn · lenkk · lennk · llenk · lnek
  • Lenkerelnker · lekner · lenekr · lenkerr · lenkker · lenkre · lennker · llenker

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lenk" for "Lenker" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lenk" is a verb and "Lenker" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lenk" or "Lenker"?
"Lenker" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,479 in our German list, against #27,396 for "lenk". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "lenk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lenker" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,404,178 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lenk" and "Lenker" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs lenk". 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 #1,404,178 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