Which to use
“lenzen” and “linken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,051
- “lenzen” frequency rank
- #1,115
- “linken” frequency rank
- 50166
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lenzen | linken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Wasser aus einem Boots- oder Schiffskörper entfernen | jemanden hereinlegen, täuschen |
Where the eye mixes lenzen and linken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lenzen with linken
A purely visual mix-up. lenzen ([ˈlɛnt͡sn̩]) and linken ([ˈlɪŋkn̩]) 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 50166, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lenzen is recorded at frequency rank #49,051, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛnt͡sn̩]. linken is at rank #1,115, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɪŋkn̩].
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 50166, this pair ranks #1,184,107 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lenzen vs linken
Shared letters: eln. Private to "lenzen": z. Private to "linken": ik.
"lenzen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "linken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lenzen" and "linken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "lenzen" or "linken" show up more?
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 "lenzen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "linken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,184,107 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lenzen" and "linken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lenzen vs letten". 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 #1,184,107 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.