lachtevsleichteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lachte is a verb, leichte is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lachte” is a verb and “leichte” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,642
“lachte” frequency rank
#3,197
“leichte” frequency rank
16839
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lachte leichte
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lachen Nominativ Singular Femininum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs leicht

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lachte and leichte apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
lachte
7 ch
leichte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

lachte and leichte form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lachte is recorded at frequency rank #13,642, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaxtə]. leichte is at rank #3,197, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯çtə].

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 16839, this pair ranks #1,932,595 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

lachte#13,642
leichte#3,197

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lachte" and "leichte" be used interchangeably?
No, "lachte" and "leichte" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering lachte vs leichte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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