lacvsLautWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#37,041
“lac” frequency rank
#505
“Laut” frequency rank
37546
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lac Laut
Definition See ein Geräusch

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lac and Laut apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
lac
4 ch
Laut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lac ([lak]) and Laut ([laʊ̯t]) 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 37546, 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]. Laut is at rank #505, tagged as anoun, pronounced [laʊ̯t].

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 37546, this pair ranks #1,587,391 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lac vs Laut

Shared letters: al. Private to "lac": c. Private to "Laut": tu.

"lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Laut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lautalut · latu · lautt · llaut · luat

Frequency comparison

lac#37,041
Laut#505

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lac" and "Laut" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lak] versus [laʊ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lac" or "Laut"?
"Laut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #505 in our German list, against #37,041 for "lac". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering lac vs Laut

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