Which to use
“lame” and “Lampe” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,857
- “lame” frequency rank
- #7,203
- “Lampe” frequency rank
- 57060
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lame | Lampe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dünne Platte, dünne Schicht, Klinge | Licht- oder Leuchtmittel, bei dem Licht durch Energieumwandlung erzeugt wird |
Where the eye mixes lame and Lampe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lame runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Lampe's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lame vs Lampe
A purely visual mix-up. lame ([lam]) and Lampe ([ˈlampə]) 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 57060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lame is recorded at frequency rank #49,857, classified as anoun, pronounced [lam]. Lampe is at rank #7,203, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlampə].
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 57060, this pair ranks #916,110 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lame vs Lampe
Shared letters: aelm. Private to "lame": -. Private to "Lampe": p.
"lame" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Lampe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lame" and "Lampe" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "lame" or "Lampe" show up more?
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 "lame" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Lampe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #916,110 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lame" and "Lampe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lähmt vs lame". 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 #916,110 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.