Which to use
“lahm” is an adjective and “lame” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,958
- “lahm” frequency rank
- #49,857
- “lame” frequency rank
- 57815
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lahm | lame |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gelähmt und daher unbeweglich | dünne Platte, dünne Schicht, Klinge |
Same sound, different letters: lahm vs lame
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.
Same sound, different spelling - lahm / lame
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: lahm and lame carry the same recorded pronunciation, [laːm]. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57815, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lahm is recorded at frequency rank #7,958, classified as anadj, pronounced [laːm]. lame is at rank #49,857, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lam].
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 57815, this pair ranks #886,699 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lahm vs lame
Shared letters: alm. Private to "lahm": h. Private to "lame": e.
"lahm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lame" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lahm" for "lame" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lahm" vs "lame" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "lahm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lame" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #886,699 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lahm" and "lame" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lähmt 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 #886,699 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.