Which to use
“lance” and “lunch” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,214
- “lance” frequency rank
- #26,508
- “lunch” frequency rank
- 51722
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lance | lunch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Waffe aus einem langen Stiel und einer Spitze aus Eisen | Mittagessen |
Where the eye mixes lance and lunch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lance vs lunch
A purely visual mix-up. lance ([lɑ̃s]) and lunch ([lʌn(t)ʃ]) 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 51722, 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]. lunch is at rank #26,508, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lʌn(t)ʃ].
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 51722, this pair ranks #1,124,586 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lance vs lunch
Shared letters: cln. Private to "lance": ae. Private to "lunch": hu.
"lance" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "lunch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lance" for "lunch" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lance" or "lunch"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lance" and "lunch" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lance" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lunch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,124,586 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lance" and "lunch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lance". 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 #1,124,586 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.