LackevsluckWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,413
“Lacke” frequency rank
#26,957
“luck” frequency rank
72370
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lacke luck
Definition kleine Flüssigkeitsansammlung; Ansammlung von Regenwasser, Pfütze, kleines Gewässer Glück

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lacke and luck apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Lacke
4 ch
luck

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lacke ([ˈlakə]) and luck ([lʌk]) 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 72370, 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]. luck is at rank #26,957, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lʌk].

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 72370, this pair ranks #390,281 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Lacke vs luck

Shared letters: ckl. Private to "Lacke": ae. Private to "luck": u.

"Lacke" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "luck" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lackealcke · laccke · lacek · lackke · lakce · lcake · llacke
  • lucklcuk · lluck · lucck · luckk · lukc · ulck

Frequency comparison

Lacke#45,413
luck#26,957

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lacke" and "luck" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlakə] versus [lʌk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lacke" or "luck"?
"luck" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,957 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 luck

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list