Which to use
“lame” and “lance” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,857
- “lame” frequency rank
- #25,214
- “lance” frequency rank
- 75071
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lame | lance |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dünne Platte, dünne Schicht, Klinge | Waffe aus einem langen Stiel und einer Spitze aus Eisen |
Where the eye mixes lame and lance
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lame runs 4 letters (CVCV) against lance's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lame with lance
A purely visual mix-up. lame ([lam]) and lance ([lɑ̃s]) 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 75071, 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]. lance is at rank #25,214, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lɑ̃s].
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 75071, this pair ranks #317,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lame vs lance
Shared letters: ael. Private to "lame": m. Private to "lance": cn.
"lame" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lance" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lame" and "lance" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lame" or "lance"?
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 "lance" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #317,187 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lame" and "lance" 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 #317,187 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.