lächlevslachteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#39,515
“lächle” frequency rank
#13,642
“lachte” frequency rank
53157
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lächle lachte
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lächeln 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lachen

Where the eye mixes lächle and lachte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
lächle
6 ch
lachte

Look-alike desk: lächle vs lachte

A purely visual mix-up. lächle ([ˈlɛçlə]) and lachte ([ˈlaxtə]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53157, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lächle is recorded at frequency rank #39,515, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛçlə]. lachte is at rank #13,642, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaxtə].

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 53157, this pair ranks #1,068,973 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lächle vs lachte

Shared letters: cehl. Private to "lächle": ä. Private to "lachte": at.

"lächle" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "lachte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lachtealchte · lacchte · lachet · lachhte · lachtte · lacthe · lahcte · lcahte

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lächle" for "lachte" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlɛçlə] versus [ˈlaxtə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lächle" or "lachte"?
"lachte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,642 in our German list, against #39,515 for "lächle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "lächle" and "lachte" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lächle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lachte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,068,973 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lächle" and "lachte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lächle vs Lacke". 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 #1,068,973 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