LammvsLaufWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Lamm” and “Lauf” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,117
“Lamm” frequency rank
#1,737
“Lauf” frequency rank
15854
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lamm Lauf
Definition das junge Schaf schnelle Fortbewegung zu Fuß, bei der kurzzeitig kein Bodenkontakt besteht

Where the eye mixes Lamm and Lauf

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Lamm
4 ch
Lauf

Visual trap between Lamm and Lauf

A purely visual mix-up. Lamm ([lam]) and Lauf ([laʊ̯f]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lamm is recorded at frequency rank #14,117, classified as anoun, pronounced [lam]. Lauf is at rank #1,737, tagged as anoun, pronounced [laʊ̯f].

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 15854, this pair ranks #1,940,621 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lamm vs Lauf

Shared letters: al. Private to "Lamm": m. Private to "Lauf": fu.

"Lamm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Lauf" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lammalmm · llamm · lmam
  • Laufaluf · lafu · lauff · llauf · luaf

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lamm" and "Lauf" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lam] versus [laʊ̯f]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lamm" or "Lauf"?
"Lauf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,737 in our German list, against #14,117 for "Lamm". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Lamm" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,940,621 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lamm" and "Lauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lähmt vs Lamm". 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 #1,940,621 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list