Which to use
“lachen” and “lachten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,486
- “lachen” frequency rank
- #28,285
- “lachten” frequency rank
- 29771
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lachen | lachten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | wegen Belustigung den Mund öffnen und Laute ausstoßen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lachen |
Where the eye mixes lachen and lachten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lachen and lachten
A purely visual mix-up. lachen ([ˈlaxn̩]) and lachten ([ˈlaxtn̩]) 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 29771, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lachen is recorded at frequency rank #1,486, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaxn̩]. lachten is at rank #28,285, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaxtn̩].
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 29771, this pair ranks #1,760,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lachen vs lachten
Shared letters: acehln. Private to "lachen": -. Private to "lachten": t.
"lachen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lachten" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lachen" for "lachten" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lachen" vs "lachten" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lachen" and "lachten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lachten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,760,618 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lachen" and "lachten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lachten vs Latten". 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 #1,760,618 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.