lernevsLesbeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#6,215
“lerne” frequency rank
#39,511
“Lesbe” frequency rank
45726
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lerne Lesbe
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lernen Frau, die homosexuelle Neigungen besitzt, lesbisch ist

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lerne and Lesbe apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
lerne
5 ch
Lesbe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lerne is [ˈlɛʁnə] while Lesbe is [ˈlɛsbə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lerne is recorded at frequency rank #6,215, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛʁnə]. Lesbe is at rank #39,511, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛsbə].

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 45726, this pair ranks #1,343,265 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lerne vs Lesbe

Shared letters: el. Private to "lerne": nr. Private to "Lesbe": bs.

"lerne" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Lesbe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lerneelrne · lenre · lerrne · llerne · lrene
  • Lesbeelsbe · lebse · lesbbe · leseb · lessbe · llesbe · lsebe

Frequency comparison

lerne#6,215
Lesbe#39,511

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lerne" and "Lesbe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lerne" is a verb and "Lesbe" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lerne" or "Lesbe"?
"lerne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,215 in our German list, against #39,511 for "Lesbe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lerne vs Lesbe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lerne”; for a noun, it's “Lesbe”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lerne” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list