Which to use
“Laien” and “Laken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,234
- “Laien” frequency rank
- #35,291
- “Laken” frequency rank
- 44525
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Laien | Laken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Laie | großes Tuch, mit dem eine Matratze abgedeckt wird |
Where the eye mixes Laien and Laken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Laien (CVVVC) and Laken (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Laien and Laken
A purely visual mix-up. Laien ([ˈlaɪ̯ən]) 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 differ by a single letter - i in “Laien” becomes k in “Laken”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44525, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Laien is recorded at frequency rank #9,234, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaɪ̯ən]. 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 44525, this pair ranks #1,383,379 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Laien vs Laken
Shared letters: aeln. Private to "Laien": i. Private to "Laken": k.
"Laien" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "Laken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Laien" for "Laken" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Laien" vs "Laken" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Laien" and "Laken" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Laien" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Laken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,383,379 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Laien" and "Laken" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Laken vs Lasern". 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 #1,383,379 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.