LalavslolWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Lala is a noun, lol is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Lala” is a noun and “lol” is an abbrev - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,660
“Lala” frequency rank
#3,266
“lol” frequency rank
33926
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lala lol
Definition Erzieher und Zeremonienmeister an Höfen im Osmanischen Reich Kürzel, das ausdrückt, dass man laut lacht beziehungsweise etwas sehr lustig findet

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lala and lol apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Lala
3 ch
lol

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lala is [laˈlaː] while lol is [lɔl]. 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 abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lala is recorded at frequency rank #30,660, classified as anoun, pronounced [laˈlaː]. lol is at rank #3,266, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [lɔl].

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 33926, this pair ranks #1,674,947 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lala vs lol

Shared letters: l. Private to "Lala": a. Private to "lol": o.

"Lala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lol" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lalalaal · lalla · llaa · llala

Frequency comparison

Lala#30,660
lol#3,266

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lala" and "lol" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Lala" is a noun and "lol" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Lala" or "lol"?
"lol" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,266 in our German list, against #30,660 for "Lala". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Lala vs lol

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Lala”; for an abbrev, it's “lol”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Lala” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list