lachstvsläufstWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,742
“lachst” frequency rank
#25,224
“läufst” frequency rank
53966
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lachst läufst
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lachen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs laufen

Where the eye mixes lachst and läufst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lachst (CVCCCC) and läufst (CVVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
lachst
6 ch
läufst

Why the eye confuses lachst with läufst

A purely visual mix-up. lachst ([laxst]) and läufst ([lɔɪ̯fst]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53966, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lachst is recorded at frequency rank #28,742, classified as averb, pronounced [laxst]. läufst is at rank #25,224, tagged as averb, pronounced [lɔɪ̯fst].

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 53966, this pair ranks #1,037,275 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lachst vs läufst

Shared letters: lst. Private to "lachst": ach. Private to "läufst": fuä.

"lachst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC  ·  "läufst" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lachst ← alchst · lacchst · lachhst · lachsst · lachstt · lachts · lacsht · lahcst

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lachst" and "läufst" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([laxst] versus [lɔɪ̯fst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "lachst" or "läufst" show up more?
"läufst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,224 in our German list, against #28,742 for "lachst". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lachst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "läufst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,037,275 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lachst" and "läufst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lachst vs lähmt". 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 #1,037,275 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