Which to use
“listen” and “löste” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,978
- “listen” frequency rank
- #6,693
- “löste” frequency rank
- 12671
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | listen | löste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas mündlich aufzählen oder schriftlich anführen | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lösen |
Where the eye mixes listen and löste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. listen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against löste's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between listen and löste
A purely visual mix-up. listen ([ˈlɪstn̩]) and löste ([ˈløːstə]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12671, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
listen is recorded at frequency rank #5,978, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɪstn̩]. löste is at rank #6,693, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈløːstə].
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 12671, this pair ranks #1,962,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of listen vs löste
Shared letters: elst. Private to "listen": in. Private to "löste": ö.
"listen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "löste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- listen ← ilsten · lisetn · lissten · listenn · listne · listten · litsen · llisten
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "listen" for "löste" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "listen" or "löste" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "listen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "löste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,962,760 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "listen" and "löste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Loses vs löste". 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 #1,962,760 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.