Which to use
“lack” is a verb and “laue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,118
- “lack” frequency rank
- #38,872
- “laue” frequency rank
- 50990
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lack | laue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lacken | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lau |
Where the eye mixes lack and laue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lack and laue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lack is [lak] while laue is [ˈlaʊ̯ə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50990, 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]. laue is at rank #38,872, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯ə].
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 50990, this pair ranks #1,152,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lack vs laue
Shared letters: al. Private to "lack": ck. Private to "laue": eu.
"lack" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "laue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lack" and "laue" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lack" or "laue"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lack" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,152,694 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lack" and "laue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs laue". 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 #1,152,694 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.