Which to use
“lagen” and “lügen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,664
- “lagen” frequency rank
- #2,910
- “lügen” frequency rank
- 5574
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lagen | lügen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs liegen | vorsätzlich nicht die Wahrheit sagen |
Where the eye mixes lagen and lügen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lagen vs lügen
A purely visual mix-up. lagen ([ˈlaːɡn̩]) and lügen ([ˈlyːɡn̩]) 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 - a in “lagen” becomes ü in “lügen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5574, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lagen is recorded at frequency rank #2,664, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaːɡn̩]. lügen is at rank #2,910, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlyːɡn̩].
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 5574, this pair ranks #1,994,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lagen vs lügen
Shared letters: egln. Private to "lagen": a. Private to "lügen": ü.
"lagen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "lügen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lagen ← laegn · lagenn · laggen · lagne · lgaen · llagen
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lagen" and "lügen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "lagen" or "lügen" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lagen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lügen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,994,354 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lagen" and "lügen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lagen vs Lasern". 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 #1,994,354 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.