LabvslameWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,610
“Lab” frequency rank
#49,857
“lame” frequency rank
68467
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lab lame
Definition Enzymgemisch, das aus Kälbermägen gewonnen wird und zur Käseherstellung genutzt wird dünne Platte, dünne Schicht, Klinge

Where the eye mixes Lab and lame

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
Lab
4 ch
lame

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lab ([laːp]) and lame ([lam]) 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 68467, 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]. lame is at rank #49,857, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lam].

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 68467, this pair ranks #506,794 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Lab vs lame

Shared letters: al. Private to "Lab": b. Private to "lame": em.

"Lab" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "lame" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lamealme · laem · lamme · llame · lmae

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lab" and "lame" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([laːp] versus [lam]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lab" or "lame"?
"Lab" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,610 in our German list, against #49,857 for "lame". 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 "lame". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lame" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #506,794 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lab" and "lame" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lähmt 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