lacvsLackeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#37,041
“lac” frequency rank
#45,413
“Lacke” frequency rank
82454
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lac Lacke
Definition See kleine Flüssigkeitsansammlung; Ansammlung von Regenwasser, Pfütze, kleines Gewässer

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lac and Lacke apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
lac
5 ch
Lacke

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lac ([lak]) and Lacke ([ˈlakə]) 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) - “lac” sits inside “Lacke”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82454, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lac is recorded at frequency rank #37,041, classified as anoun, pronounced [lak]. Lacke is at rank #45,413, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlakə].

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 82454, this pair ranks #157,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lac vs Lacke

Shared letters: acl. Private to "lac": -. Private to "Lacke": ek.

"lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Lacke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lackealcke · laccke · lacek · lackke · lakce · lcake · llacke

Frequency comparison

lac#37,041
Lacke#45,413

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lac" and "Lacke" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lak] versus [ˈlakə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lac" or "Lacke"?
"lac" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,041 in our German list, against #45,413 for "Lacke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lac vs Lacke

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lac” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list