LeuchtevslöschteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#24,424
“Leuchte” frequency rank
#37,661
“löschte” frequency rank
62085
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Leuchte löschte
Definition Gegenstand, der ein Leuchtmittel (wie eine Lampe) trägt 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs löschen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Leuchte and löschte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Leuchte
7 ch
löschte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Leuchte is [ˈlɔɪ̯çtə] while löschte is [ˈlœʃtə]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62085, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Leuchte is recorded at frequency rank #24,424, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɔɪ̯çtə]. löschte is at rank #37,661, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlœʃtə].

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 62085, this pair ranks #725,726 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Leuchte vs löschte

Shared letters: cehlt. Private to "Leuchte": u. Private to "löschte": .

"Leuchte" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV  ·  "löschte" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leuchteeluchte · lecuhte · leucchte · leuchet · leuchhte · leucthe · leuhcte · lleuchte

Frequency comparison

Leuchte#24,424
löschte#37,661

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Leuchte" and "löschte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Leuchte" is a noun and "löschte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Leuchte" or "löschte"?
"Leuchte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,424 in our German list, against #37,661 for "löschte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Leuchte vs löschte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Leuchte”; for a verb, it's “löschte”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Leuchte” 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