littenvsLotsenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#23,221
“litten” frequency rank
#45,433
“Lotsen” frequency rank
68654
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature litten Lotsen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs leiden Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Lotse

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set litten and Lotsen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
litten
6 ch
Lotsen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: litten is [ˈlɪtn̩] while Lotsen is [ˈloːt͡sn̩]. 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 68654, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

litten is recorded at frequency rank #23,221, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɪtn̩]. Lotsen is at rank #45,433, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈloːt͡sn̩].

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 68654, this pair ranks #501,102 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of litten vs Lotsen

Shared letters: elnt. Private to "litten": i. Private to "Lotsen": os.

"litten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Lotsen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • litteniltten · liten · litetn · littenn · littne · llitten · ltiten
  • Lotsenllotsen · losten · lotesn · lotsenn · lotsne · lotssen · lottsen · ltosen

Frequency comparison

litten#23,221
Lotsen#45,433

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "litten" and "Lotsen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "litten" is a verb and "Lotsen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "litten" or "Lotsen"?
"litten" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,221 in our German list, against #45,433 for "Lotsen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering litten vs Lotsen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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