Which to use
“Lahn” is a name and “loh” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,764
- “Lahn” frequency rank
- #44,776
- “loh” frequency rank
- 61540
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lahn | loh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | rechter Nebenfluss des Rheins: entspringt im Rothaargebirge und mündet nach 240 km Flusslauf in Lahnstein in den Rhein | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lohen |
Where the eye mixes Lahn and loh
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Lahn runs 4 letters (CVCC) against loh's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Lahn and loh
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lahn is [laːn] while loh is [loː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61540, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Lahn is recorded at frequency rank #16,764, classified as aname, pronounced [laːn]. loh is at rank #44,776, tagged as averb, pronounced [loː].
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 61540, this pair ranks #745,932 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Lahn vs loh
Shared letters: hl. Private to "Lahn": an. Private to "loh": o.
"Lahn" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "loh" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Lahn ← alhn · lahhn · lahnn · lanh · lhan · llahn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Lahn" and "loh" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Lahn" or "loh" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lahn" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #745,932 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lahn" and "loh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loh vs Lori". 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 #745,932 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.