lenken

[ˈlɛŋkn̩]

/[ˈlɛŋkn̩]/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“lenken” has 9 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #8,098. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,098
frequency rank, German
2,640
“L” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - an einen bestimmten Ort, an ein Ziel führen

Corpus desk

Index DE-lenken · lenken · German

lenken · rank #8,098 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,098
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,640
  • PHOTO-FINISH law

Nearest frequency peer: law (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „lenken“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „lenken“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

lenken vs lesen
67% similar
lenken vs Linke
50% similar
lenken vs lenkt
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for lenken
PropertyValue
Headwordlenken
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[ˈlɛŋkn̩]
Letters6
Frequency rank#8,098
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „lenken“

Von links nach rechts: die wenigen Träger des Alltags, dann der lange Schwanz kaum gebrauchter Formen.lenkenliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „law“ (#8,097), „LP“ (#8,099), „kühl“ (#8,096). Unter 2,640 „L“-Lemmata liegt „lenken“ bei #8,098. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around lenken (IPA [ˈlɛŋkn̩]), averb. Corpus frequency is #8,098 among 2,640 “L” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for lenken, with forms such as "elnken", "leknen", and "lenekn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "lesen", "Linke", "lenkt", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct German form is lenken, spelled L-E-N-K-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    an einen bestimmten Ort, an ein Ziel führen
  2. 2
    etwas oder jemanden (ein Fahrzeug, ein Tier, eine Person) in eine Richtung im Raum steuern
  3. 3
    eine Situation, den Fokus, die Aufmerksamkeit oder eine Person steuern

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how lenken appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Der Trampelpfad lenkte damals zur Brücke am Teich.
  2. Leichtsinn lenkt ins Unglück.

This word in other languages

steer(English)conducir(Español)conduire(Français)controlar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • elnken
  • leknen
  • lenekn
  • lenkenn
  • lenkken
  • lenkne
  • lennken
  • llenken
  • lneken

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lenken - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

elnken2leknen2lenekn2lenkenn1lenkken1lenkne2lennken1llenken1
Edit distance from "lenken"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lenken"?
"lenken" is spelled L-E-N-K-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈlɛŋkn̩].
What does "lenken" mean?
As a verb, "lenken" means: an einen bestimmten Ort, an ein Ziel führen
What words are commonly confused with "lenken"?
"lenken" is commonly confused with "lesen", "Linke", "lenkt". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lenken"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lenken" is [ˈlɛŋkn̩]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lenken" come from?
"lenken" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "lenken", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Marion#8,103Monika#8,107Mozart#8,108heilig#8,075

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Radweg9 variantsredest9 variantsSession9 variantsstiegen9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list