Which to use
“lade” and “lagen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,399
- “lade” frequency rank
- #2,664
- “lagen” frequency rank
- 12063
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lade | lagen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs laden | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs liegen |
Where the eye mixes lade and lagen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lade runs 4 letters (CVCV) against lagen's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lade and lagen
A purely visual mix-up. lade ([ˈlaːdə]) and lagen ([ˈlaːɡn̩]) 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 12063, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lade is recorded at frequency rank #9,399, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaːdə]. lagen is at rank #2,664, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaːɡn̩].
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 12063, this pair ranks #1,966,392 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lade vs lagen
Shared letters: ael. Private to "lade": d. Private to "lagen": gn.
"lade" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lagen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lade" and "lagen" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lade" vs "lagen" - which ranks higher?
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 "lade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lagen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,966,392 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lade" and "lagen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lade 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 #1,966,392 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.