Which to use
“lang” and “lax” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #403
- “lang” frequency rank
- #43,323
- “lax” frequency rank
- 43726
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lang | lax |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | große Ausmaße, große räumliche Ausmaße habend; über große Ausmaße, große Ausdehnung verfügend | nicht streng (in der Auslegung von Regeln) |
Where the eye mixes lang and lax
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lang with lax
A purely visual mix-up. lang ([laŋ]) and lax ([laks]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lang is recorded at frequency rank #403, classified as anadj, pronounced [laŋ]. lax is at rank #43,323, tagged as anadj, pronounced [laks].
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 43726, this pair ranks #1,408,876 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lang vs lax
Shared letters: al. Private to "lang": gn. Private to "lax": x.
"lang" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lax" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lang ← alng · lagn · langg · lanng · llang · lnag
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lang" for "lax" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lang" or "lax"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lang" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lax" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,408,876 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lang" and "lax" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lax". 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 #1,408,876 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.