lenkvslookWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,396
“lenk” frequency rank
#6,324
“look” frequency rank
33720
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lenk look
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lenken schauen, sehen

Where the eye mixes lenk and look

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
lenk
4 ch
look

Look-alike desk: lenk vs look

A purely visual mix-up. lenk ([lɛŋk]) and look ([lʊk]) 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 33720, 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]. look is at rank #6,324, tagged as averb, pronounced [lʊk].

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 33720, this pair ranks #1,679,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lenk vs look

Shared letters: kl. Private to "lenk": en. Private to "look": o.

"lenk" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "look" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lenkelnk · lekn · lenkk · lennk · llenk · lnek
  • lookllook · loko · lookk · olok

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lenk" and "look" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lɛŋk] versus [lʊk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lenk" vs "look" - which ranks higher?
"look" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,324 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

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lenk" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "look" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,679,566 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lenk" and "look" 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 #1,679,566 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