Which to use
“lang” is an adjective and “Lauf” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #403
- “lang” frequency rank
- #1,737
- “Lauf” frequency rank
- 2140
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lang | Lauf |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | große Ausmaße, große räumliche Ausmaße habend; über große Ausmaße, große Ausdehnung verfügend | schnelle Fortbewegung zu Fuß, bei der kurzzeitig kein Bodenkontakt besteht |
Where the eye mixes lang and Lauf
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lang is [laŋ] while Lauf is [laʊ̯f]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2140, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lang is recorded at frequency rank #403, classified as anadj, pronounced [laŋ]. 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 2140, this pair ranks #2,003,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lang vs Lauf
Shared letters: al. Private to "lang": gn. Private to "Lauf": fu.
"lang" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "Lauf" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lang" and "Lauf" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lang" or "Lauf"?
What to do next
You've compared "lang" and "Lauf". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "lang" 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 #2,003,008 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lang" and "Lauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs Lauf". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.