ladvslasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#24,418
“lad” frequency rank
#3,265
“las” frequency rank
27683
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lad las
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs laden 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lesen

Where the eye mixes lad and las

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
lad
3 ch
las

Why the eye confuses lad with las

A purely visual mix-up. lad ([laːt]) and las ([laːs]) 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 a single letter - d in “lad” becomes s in “las”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27683, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lad is recorded at frequency rank #24,418, classified as averb, pronounced [laːt]. las is at rank #3,265, tagged as averb, pronounced [laːs].

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 27683, this pair ranks #1,797,666 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lad vs las

Shared letters: al. Private to "lad": d. Private to "las": s.

"lad" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "las" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lad" and "las" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([laːt] versus [laːs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lad" or "las"?
"las" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,265 in our German list, against #24,418 for "lad". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lad" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "las" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,797,666 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lad" and "las" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lad vs lame". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,797,666 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list