LagervsLakenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,895
“Lager” frequency rank
#35,291
“Laken” frequency rank
37186
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lager Laken
Definition Raum oder Gebäude zur geordneten Unterbringung von Waren großes Tuch, mit dem eine Matratze abgedeckt wird

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lager and Laken apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Lager
5 ch
Laken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lager ([ˈlaːɡɐ]) and Laken ([ˈlaːkn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37186, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lager is recorded at frequency rank #1,895, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaːɡɐ]. Laken is at rank #35,291, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaːkn̩].

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 37186, this pair ranks #1,596,653 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lager vs Laken

Shared letters: ael. Private to "Lager": gr. Private to "Laken": kn.

"Lager" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Laken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lageralger · laegr · lagerr · lagger · lagre · lgaer · llager
  • Lakenalken · laekn · lakenn · lakken · lakne · lkaen · llaken

Frequency comparison

Lager#1,895
Laken#35,291

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lager" and "Laken" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaːɡɐ] versus [ˈlaːkn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lager" or "Laken"?
"Lager" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,895 in our German list, against #35,291 for "Laken". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Lager vs Laken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Lager” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list