Which to use
“lahm” and “laue” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,958
- “lahm” frequency rank
- #38,872
- “laue” frequency rank
- 46830
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lahm | laue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gelähmt und daher unbeweglich | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lau |
Where the eye mixes lahm and laue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lahm (CVCC) and laue (CVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between lahm and laue
A purely visual mix-up. lahm ([laːm]) and laue ([ˈlaʊ̯ə]) 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 46830, 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]. laue is at rank #38,872, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯ə].
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 46830, this pair ranks #1,305,486 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lahm vs laue
Shared letters: al. Private to "lahm": hm. Private to "laue": eu.
"lahm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "laue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lahm" for "laue" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lahm" vs "laue" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lahm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,305,486 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lahm" and "laue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs laue". 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 #1,305,486 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.