Which to use
“Laken” and “Lücken” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,291
- “Laken” frequency rank
- #8,908
- “Lücken” frequency rank
- 44199
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Laken | Lücken |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | großes Tuch, mit dem eine Matratze abgedeckt wird | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Lücke |
Where the eye mixes Laken and Lücken
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Laken runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Lücken's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Laken and Lücken
A purely visual mix-up. Laken ([ˈlaːkn̩]) and Lücken ([ˈlʏkn̩]) 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 44199, 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]. Lücken is at rank #8,908, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlʏkn̩].
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 44199, this pair ranks #1,393,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Laken vs Lücken
Shared letters: ekln. Private to "Laken": a. Private to "Lücken": cü.
"Laken" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Lücken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Laken ← alken · laekn · lakenn · lakken · lakne · lkaen · llaken
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Laken" and "Lücken" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Laken" or "Lücken" 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 "Laken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Lücken" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,393,816 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Laken" and "Lücken" 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 #1,393,816 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.