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 eye mixes lachen and Laken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lachen runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against Laken's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lachen with Laken
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lachen" for "Laken" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lachen" vs "Laken" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lachen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Laken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,606,954 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lachen" and "Laken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Laken vs Lasern". 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 #1,606,954 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.