LachsvslaxWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Lachs is a noun, lax is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Lachs” is a noun and “lax” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,311
“Lachs” frequency rank
#43,323
“lax” frequency rank
61634
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lachs lax
Definition Fische der Gattungen Salmo, Salmothymus und Oncorhynchus aus der Familie der Forellenfische (Salmonidae) innerhalb der Ordnung der Lachsartigen nicht streng (in der Auslegung von Regeln)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lachs and lax apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Lachs
3 ch
lax

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: Lachs and lax carry the same recorded pronunciation, [laks]. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61634, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lachs is recorded at frequency rank #18,311, classified as anoun, pronounced [laks]. lax is at rank #43,323, tagged as anadj, pronounced [laks].

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 61634, this pair ranks #742,378 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Lachs vs lax

Shared letters: al. Private to "Lachs": chs. Private to "lax": x.

"Lachs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "lax" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lachsalchs · lacchs · lachhs · lachss · lacsh · lahcs · lcahs · llachs

Frequency comparison

Lachs#18,311
lax#43,323

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lachs" and "lax" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Lachs" is a noun and "lax" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Lachs" or "lax"?
"Lachs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,311 in our German list, against #43,323 for "lax". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Lachs vs lax

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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