lacvsLechWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lac is a noun, Lech is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lac” is a noun and “Lech” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,041
“lac” frequency rank
#22,810
“Lech” frequency rank
59851
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lac Lech
Definition See rechter Nebenfluss der oberen Donau in Österreich und Deutschland, welcher an der Rotwandspitze in Vorarlberg entspringt

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
lac
4 ch
Lech

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lac is [lak] while Lech is [lɛç]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59851, 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]. Lech is at rank #22,810, tagged as aname, pronounced [lɛç].

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 59851, this pair ranks #808,943 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lac vs Lech

Shared letters: cl. Private to "lac": a. Private to "Lech": eh.

"lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "Lech" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lechlceh · lecch · lechh · lehc · llech

Frequency comparison

lac#37,041
Lech#22,810

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lac" and "Lech" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lac" is a noun and "Lech" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lac" or "Lech"?
"Lech" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,810 in our German list, against #37,041 for "lac". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lac vs Lech

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “lac”; for a name, it's “Lech”.
  • 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