Which to use
“lenken” and “liken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,098
- “lenken” frequency rank
- #39,513
- “liken” frequency rank
- 47611
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lenken | liken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | an einen bestimmten Ort, an ein Ziel führen | etwas nach seinem Geschmack finden, Wohlgefallen an etwas finden; jemanden leiden mögen |
Where the eye mixes lenken and liken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lenken runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against liken's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lenken with liken
A purely visual mix-up. lenken ([ˈlɛŋkn̩]) and liken ([ˈlaɪ̯kn̩]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47611, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lenken is recorded at frequency rank #8,098, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛŋkn̩]. liken is at rank #39,513, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯kn̩].
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 47611, this pair ranks #1,278,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lenken vs liken
Shared letters: ekln. Private to "lenken": -. Private to "liken": i.
"lenken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "liken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lenken" and "liken" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lenken" vs "liken" - which ranks higher?
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 "lenken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "liken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,278,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lenken" and "liken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lauen vs liken". 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 #1,278,284 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.