LackevslakeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,413
“Lacke” frequency rank
#10,319
“lake” frequency rank
55732
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lacke lake
Definition kleine Flüssigkeitsansammlung; Ansammlung von Regenwasser, Pfütze, kleines Gewässer Stillgewässer, das vollständig von einer Landfläche umgeben ist; See

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lacke and lake apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Lacke
4 ch
lake

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lacke ([ˈlakə]) and lake ([leɪk]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55732, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lacke is recorded at frequency rank #45,413, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlakə]. lake is at rank #10,319, tagged as anoun, pronounced [leɪk].

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 55732, this pair ranks #967,936 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Lacke vs lake

Shared letters: aekl. Private to "Lacke": c. Private to "lake": -.

"Lacke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "lake" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lackealcke · laccke · lacek · lackke · lakce · lcake · llacke
  • lakealke · laek · lakke · lkae · llake

Frequency comparison

Lacke#45,413
lake#10,319

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lacke" and "lake" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlakə] versus [leɪk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lacke" or "lake"?
"lake" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,319 in our German list, against #45,413 for "Lacke". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Lacke vs lake

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Lacke” 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