LabvsLaborWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Lab” and “Labor” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,610
“Lab” frequency rank
#5,977
“Labor” frequency rank
24587
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lab Labor
Definition Enzymgemisch, das aus Kälbermägen gewonnen wird und zur Käseherstellung genutzt wird Räumlichkeit oder Einrichtung, in der wissenschaftliche, technische und medizinische Untersuchungen, Analysen und Versuche durchgeführt werden

Where the eye mixes Lab and Labor

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

3 ch
Lab
5 ch
Labor

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lab ([laːp]) and Labor ([laˈboːɐ̯]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “Lab” sits inside “Labor”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24587, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lab is recorded at frequency rank #18,610, classified as anoun, pronounced [laːp]. Labor is at rank #5,977, tagged as anoun, pronounced [laˈboːɐ̯].

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 24587, this pair ranks #1,845,511 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lab vs Labor

Shared letters: abl. Private to "Lab": -. Private to "Labor": or.

"Lab" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Labor" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Laboralbor · labbor · laborr · labro · laobr · lbaor · llabor

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lab" and "Labor" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([laːp] versus [laˈboːɐ̯]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lab" or "Labor"?
"Labor" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,977 in our German list, against #18,610 for "Lab". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Lab" and "Labor". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Labor" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,845,511 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lab" and "Labor" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lab vs lame". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list