Which to use
“lame” and “laws” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,857
- “lame” frequency rank
- #38,251
- “laws” frequency rank
- 88108
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lame | laws |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | dünne Platte, dünne Schicht, Klinge | Plural des Substantivs law |
Letter map: lame vs laws
Shared letters muted; letters that set lame and laws apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. lame (CVCV) and laws (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Pair insight - lame / laws
lame and laws are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 88108, 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]. laws is at rank #38,251, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].
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 88108, this pair ranks #72,258 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lame vs laws
Shared letters: al. Private to "lame": em. Private to "laws": sw.
"lame" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "laws" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lame" and "laws" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lame" vs "laws" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pair "lame" vs "laws" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "lame" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "laws" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,258 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lame" and "laws" 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 #72,258 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.