Which to use
“lag” is a verb and “längs” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #906
- “lag” frequency rank
- #18,976
- “längs” frequency rank
- 19882
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lag | längs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs liegen | in der Längsachse |
Where the eye mixes lag and längs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lag vs längs
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lag is [laːk] while längs is [lɛŋs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lag is recorded at frequency rank #906, classified as averb, pronounced [laːk]. längs is at rank #18,976, tagged as anadv, pronounced [lɛŋs].
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 19882, this pair ranks #1,903,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lag vs längs
Shared letters: gl. Private to "lag": a. Private to "längs": nsä.
"lag" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "längs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lag" for "längs" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lag" vs "längs" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "längs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,903,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lag" and "längs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "längs vs largo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,903,607 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.