Which to use
“Laken” is a noun and “läuten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,291
- “Laken” frequency rank
- #21,685
- “läuten” frequency rank
- 56976
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Laken | läuten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | großes Tuch, mit dem eine Matratze abgedeckt wird | Geräusche durch das Bewegen einer Glocke hervorrufen |
Where the eye mixes Laken and läuten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Laken runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against läuten's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Laken with läuten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Laken is [ˈlaːkn̩] while läuten is [ˈlɔɪ̯tn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56976, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Laken is recorded at frequency rank #35,291, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaːkn̩]. läuten is at rank #21,685, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɔɪ̯tn̩].
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 56976, this pair ranks #919,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Laken vs läuten
Shared letters: eln. Private to "Laken": ak. Private to "läuten": tuä.
"Laken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "läuten" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Laken ← alken · laekn · lakenn · lakken · lakne · lkaen · llaken
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Laken" and "läuten" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Laken" or "läuten"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Laken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "läuten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #919,426 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Laken" and "läuten" 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 #919,426 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.