lachenvsLakenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lachen is a verb, Laken is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lachen” is a verb and “Laken” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,486
“lachen” frequency rank
#35,291
“Laken” frequency rank
36777
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lachen Laken
Definition wegen Belustigung den Mund öffnen und Laute ausstoßen großes Tuch, mit dem eine Matratze abgedeckt wird

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lachen and Laken apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
lachen
5 ch
Laken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lachen is [ˈlaxn̩] while Laken is [ˈlaːkn̩]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36777, 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]. Laken is at rank #35,291, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaːkn̩].

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 36777, this pair ranks #1,606,954 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lachen vs Laken

Shared letters: aeln. Private to "lachen": ch. Private to "Laken": k.

"lachen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Laken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lachenalchen · lacchen · lacehn · lachenn · lachhen · lachne · lahcen · lcahen
  • Lakenalken · laekn · lakenn · lakken · lakne · lkaen · llaken

Frequency comparison

lachen#1,486
Laken#35,291

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lachen" and "Laken" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lachen" is a verb and "Laken" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lachen" or "Laken"?
"lachen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,486 in our German list, against #35,291 for "Laken". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering lachen vs Laken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lachen”; for a noun, it's “Laken”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lachen” 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