Which to use
“lack” and “lag” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,118
- “lack” frequency rank
- #906
- “lag” frequency rank
- 13024
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lack | lag |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lacken | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs liegen |
Same sound, different letters: lack vs lag
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 2 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - lack and lag
This is the hard kind. lack and lag are pronounced identically ([lak]) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13024, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lack is recorded at frequency rank #12,118, classified as averb, pronounced [lak]. lag is at rank #906, tagged as averb, pronounced [laːk].
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 13024, this pair ranks #1,960,586 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lack vs lag
Shared letters: al. Private to "lack": ck. Private to "lag": g.
"lack" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lag" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lack ← alck · lacck · lackk · lakc · lcak · llack
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lack" and "lag" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lack" or "lag"?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "lack" / "lag". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "lack" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lag" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,960,586 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lack" and "lag" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lack vs lame". 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 #1,960,586 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.