likenvsLudenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#39,513
“liken” frequency rank
#27,403
“Luden” frequency rank
66916
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature liken Luden
Definition etwas nach seinem Geschmack finden, Wohlgefallen an etwas finden; jemanden leiden mögen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lude

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
liken
5 ch
Luden

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: liken is [ˈlaɪ̯kn̩] while Luden is [ˈluːdn̩]. 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 66916, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

liken is recorded at frequency rank #39,513, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯kn̩]. Luden is at rank #27,403, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈluːdn̩].

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 66916, this pair ranks #557,305 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of liken vs Luden

Shared letters: eln. Private to "liken": ik. Private to "Luden": du.

"liken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Luden" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • likenilken · liekn · likenn · likken · lkien · lliken
  • Ludenlduen · lluden · ludden · ludenn · ludne · luedn · ulden

Frequency comparison

liken#39,513
Luden#27,403

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "liken" and "Luden" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "liken" is a verb and "Luden" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "liken" or "Luden"?
"Luden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,403 in our German list, against #39,513 for "liken". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering liken vs Luden

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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