Which to use
“lame” and “Läuse” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,857
- “lame” frequency rank
- #43,335
- “Läuse” frequency rank
- 93192
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lame | Läuse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dünne Platte, dünne Schicht, Klinge | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Laus |
Where the eye mixes lame and Läuse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lame runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Läuse's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lame with Läuse
A purely visual mix-up. lame ([lam]) and Läuse ([ˈlɔɪ̯zə]) 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 93192, 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]. Läuse is at rank #43,335, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɔɪ̯zə].
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 93192, this pair ranks #24,538 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lame vs Läuse
Shared letters: el. Private to "lame": am. Private to "Läuse": suä.
"lame" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Läuse" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lame ← alme · laem · lamme · llame · lmae
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lame" for "Läuse" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lame" vs "Läuse" - which ranks higher?
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 "Läuse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #24,538 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lame" and "Läuse" 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 #24,538 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.