Which to use
“lahm” and “lau” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,958
- “lahm” frequency rank
- #16,210
- “lau” frequency rank
- 24168
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lahm | lau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gelähmt und daher unbeweglich | von einer mittleren Temperatur zwischen kühl und warm |
Where the eye mixes lahm and lau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. lahm ([laːm]) and lau ([laʊ̯]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24168, 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]. lau is at rank #16,210, tagged as anadj, pronounced [laʊ̯].
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 24168, this pair ranks #1,851,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lahm vs lau
Shared letters: al. Private to "lahm": hm. Private to "lau": u.
"lahm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lau" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lahm ← alhm · lahhm · lahmm · lamh · lham · llahm
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lahm" and "lau" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lahm" or "lau"?
What to do next
You've compared "lahm" and "lau". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "lahm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,851,446 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lahm" and "lau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lau". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.