LaborvsLaserWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,977
“Labor” frequency rank
#8,743
“Laser” frequency rank
14720
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Labor Laser
Definition Räumlichkeit oder Einrichtung, in der wissenschaftliche, technische und medizinische Untersuchungen, Analysen und Versuche durchgeführt werden Quelle für intensives, gerichtetes und kohärentes Licht nur eines kleinen Wellenlängenbereichs (monochromatisch)

Where the eye mixes Labor and Laser

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

5 ch
Labor
5 ch
Laser

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Labor ([laˈboːɐ̯]) and Laser ([ˈlɛɪ̯zɐ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Labor is recorded at frequency rank #5,977, classified as anoun, pronounced [laˈboːɐ̯]. Laser is at rank #8,743, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛɪ̯zɐ].

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 14720, this pair ranks #1,949,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Labor vs Laser

Shared letters: alr. Private to "Labor": bo. Private to "Laser": es.

"Labor" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Laser" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Laboralbor · labbor · laborr · labro · laobr · lbaor · llabor
  • Laseralser · laesr · laserr · lasre · lasser · llaser · lsaer

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Labor" and "Laser" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([laˈboːɐ̯] versus [ˈlɛɪ̯zɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Labor" or "Laser"?
"Labor" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,977 in our German list, against #8,743 for "Laser". 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 "Labor" and "Laser". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Labor" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Laser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,949,219 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Labor" and "Laser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Laser 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

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