lächeltvslachendTell them apart

Which to use

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

#11,925
“lächelt” frequency rank
#11,913
“lachend” frequency rank
23838
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lächelt lachend
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lächeln Partizip Präsens des Verbs lachen

Where the eye mixes lächelt and lachend

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lächelt and lachend follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
lächelt
7 ch
lachend

Look-alike desk: lächelt vs lachend

A purely visual mix-up. lächelt ([ˈlɛçl̩t]) and lachend ([laxn̩t]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23838, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lächelt is recorded at frequency rank #11,925, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛçl̩t]. lachend is at rank #11,913, tagged as averb, pronounced [laxn̩t].

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 23838, this pair ranks #1,855,958 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lächelt vs lachend

Shared letters: cehl. Private to "lächelt": tä. Private to "lachend": adn.

"lächelt" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "lachend" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lachend ← alchend · lacchend · lacehnd · lachedn · lachendd · lachennd · lachhend · lachned

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lächelt" and "lachend" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlɛçl̩t] versus [laxn̩t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lächelt" vs "lachend" - which ranks higher?
"lachend" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,913 in our German list, against #11,925 for "lächelt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lächelt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lachend" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,855,958 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lächelt" and "lachend" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lächelst vs lächelt". 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 #1,855,958 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