labernvslasenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#21,674
“labern” frequency rank
#28,289
“lasen” frequency rank
49963
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature labern lasen
Definition ohne Substanz und/oder unnötig lange, gewunden und umständlich, wortreich reden oder monologisieren 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lesen

Where the eye mixes labern and lasen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
labern
5 ch
lasen

Visual trap between labern and lasen

A purely visual mix-up. labern ([ˈlaːbɐn]) and lasen ([ˈlaːzn̩]) 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 49963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

labern is recorded at frequency rank #21,674, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaːbɐn]. lasen is at rank #28,289, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaːzn̩].

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 49963, this pair ranks #1,191,803 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of labern vs lasen

Shared letters: aeln. Private to "labern": br. Private to "lasen": s.

"labern" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "lasen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • labernlabbern · labenr · labernn · laberrn · labren · laebrn · lbaern · llabern
  • lasenalsen · laesn · lasenn · lasne · llasen · lsaen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "labern" and "lasen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaːbɐn] versus [ˈlaːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "labern" or "lasen"?
"labern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,674 in our German list, against #28,289 for "lasen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "labern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lasen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,191,803 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "labern" and "lasen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lasen vs Lasern". 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 #1,191,803 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list