Which to use
“Lacke” and “Laken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,413
- “Lacke” frequency rank
- #35,291
- “Laken” frequency rank
- 80704
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lacke | Laken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | kleine Flüssigkeitsansammlung; Ansammlung von Regenwasser, Pfütze, kleines Gewässer | großes Tuch, mit dem eine Matratze abgedeckt wird |
Where the eye mixes Lacke and Laken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Lacke (CVCCV) and Laken (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Lacke and Laken
A purely visual mix-up. Lacke ([ˈlakə]) and Laken ([ˈlaːkn̩]) 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 80704, 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]. Laken is at rank #35,291, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaːkn̩].
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 80704, this pair ranks #190,194 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Lacke vs Laken
Shared letters: aekl. Private to "Lacke": c. Private to "Laken": n.
"Lacke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Laken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Lacke" and "Laken" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Lacke" or "Laken" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lacke" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Laken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #190,194 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lacke" and "Laken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lacke 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 #190,194 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.