lädtvslaxWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lädt is a verb, lax is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lädt” is a verb and “lax” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,980
“lädt” frequency rank
#43,323
“lax” frequency rank
47303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lädt lax
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs laden nicht streng (in der Auslegung von Regeln)

Where the eye mixes lädt and lax

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

4 ch
lädt
3 ch
lax

Visual trap between lädt and lax

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lädt is [lɛːt] while lax is [laks]. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lädt is recorded at frequency rank #3,980, classified as averb, pronounced [lɛːt]. lax is at rank #43,323, tagged as anadj, pronounced [laks].

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 47303, this pair ranks #1,289,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lädt vs lax

Shared letters: l. Private to "lädt": dtä. Private to "lax": ax.

"lädt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lax" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lädt" and "lax" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lädt" is a verb and "lax" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "lädt" or "lax" show up more?
"lädt" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,980 in our German list, against #43,323 for "lax". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "lädt" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lax" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,289,091 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lädt" and "lax" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lax". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,289,091 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