Which to use
“lance” and “Läuse” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,214
- “lance” frequency rank
- #43,335
- “Läuse” frequency rank
- 68549
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lance | Läuse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Waffe aus einem langen Stiel und einer Spitze aus Eisen | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Laus |
Where the eye mixes lance and Läuse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lance (CVCCV) and Läuse (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between lance and Läuse
A purely visual mix-up. lance ([lɑ̃s]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68549, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lance is recorded at frequency rank #25,214, classified as anoun, pronounced [lɑ̃s]. 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 68549, this pair ranks #504,241 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lance vs Läuse
Shared letters: el. Private to "lance": acn. Private to "Läuse": suä.
"lance" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "Läuse" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lance ← alnce · lacne · lancce · lanec · lannce · llance · lnace
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lance" for "Läuse" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "lance" or "Läuse" show up more?
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 "lance" 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 #504,241 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lance" and "Läuse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs Läuse". 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 #504,241 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.