LackevsleckteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Lacke is a noun, leckte is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Lacke” is a noun and “leckte” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#45,413
“Lacke” frequency rank
#39,504
“leckte” frequency rank
84917
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lacke leckte
Definition kleine Flüssigkeitsansammlung; Ansammlung von Regenwasser, Pfütze, kleines Gewässer 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lecken

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
Lacke
6 ch
leckte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lacke is [ˈlakə] while leckte is [ˈlɛktə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84917, 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]. leckte is at rank #39,504, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛktə].

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 84917, this pair ranks #116,217 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Lacke vs leckte

Shared letters: cekl. Private to "Lacke": a. Private to "leckte": t.

"Lacke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "leckte" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lackealcke · laccke · lacek · lackke · lakce · lcake · llacke
  • leckteelckte · lcekte · lecckte · lecket · leckkte · lecktte · lectke · lekcte

Frequency comparison

Lacke#45,413
leckte#39,504

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lacke" and "leckte" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Lacke" is a noun and "leckte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Lacke" or "leckte"?
"leckte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,504 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 leckte

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Lacke”; for a verb, it's “leckte”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list