Which to use
“lern” and “lernen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,472
- “lern” frequency rank
- #636
- “lernen” frequency rank
- 12108
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lern | lernen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lernen | erarbeiten/erwerben/gewinnen von Kenntnissen und/oder geistigen oder körperlichen Fähigkeiten, Fertigkeiten und Erfahrungen |
Where the eye mixes lern and lernen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lern runs 4 letters (CVCC) against lernen's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lern with lernen
A purely visual mix-up. lern ([lɛʁn]) and lernen ([ˈlɛʁnən]) 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) - “lern” sits inside “lernen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12108, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lern is recorded at frequency rank #11,472, classified as averb, pronounced [lɛʁn]. lernen is at rank #636, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛʁnən].
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 12108, this pair ranks #1,966,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lern vs lernen
Shared letters: elnr. Private to "lern": -. Private to "lernen": -.
"lern" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lernen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lern" and "lernen" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "lern" or "lernen" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lernen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,966,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lern" and "lernen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lasern vs lern". 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 #1,966,133 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.