Which to use
“Lampe” and “Lanze” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,203
- “Lampe” frequency rank
- #22,413
- “Lanze” frequency rank
- 29616
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lampe | Lanze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Licht- oder Leuchtmittel, bei dem Licht durch Energieumwandlung erzeugt wird | Waffe für den Nahkampf (als Stoßwaffe), aber auch im Fernkampf (als Wurfwaffe) wie ein Speer einsetzbar; lange Stange (mehrere Meter) mit einer Spitze aus besonders hartem Material |
Where the eye mixes Lampe and Lanze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Lampe vs Lanze
A purely visual mix-up. Lampe ([ˈlampə]) and Lanze ([ˈlant͡sə]) 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 29616, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Lampe is recorded at frequency rank #7,203, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlampə]. Lanze is at rank #22,413, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlant͡sə].
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 29616, this pair ranks #1,763,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Lampe vs Lanze
Shared letters: ael. Private to "Lampe": mp. Private to "Lanze": nz.
"Lampe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Lanze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Lampe" for "Lanze" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Lampe" or "Lanze" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lampe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Lanze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,763,537 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lampe" and "Lanze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs Lanze". 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 #1,763,537 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.