Which to use
“lernte” and “lernten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,866
- “lernte” frequency rank
- #13,649
- “lernten” frequency rank
- 19515
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lernte | lernten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lernen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lernen |
Where the eye mixes lernte and lernten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. lernte runs 6 letters (CVCCCV) against lernten's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lernte and lernten
A purely visual mix-up. lernte ([ˈlɛʁntə]) and lernten ([ˈlɛʁntn̩]) 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 extra letter(s) - “lernte” sits inside “lernten”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19515, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lernte is recorded at frequency rank #5,866, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛʁntə]. lernten is at rank #13,649, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛʁntn̩].
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 19515, this pair ranks #1,907,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lernte vs lernten
Shared letters: elnrt. Private to "lernte": -. Private to "lernten": -.
"lernte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "lernten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lernte" and "lernten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "lernte" or "lernten"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lernte" and "lernten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lernte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lernten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,907,523 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lernte" and "lernten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lenzen vs lernten". 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 #1,907,523 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.