langemvslangsamWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“langem” and “langsam” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,284
“langem” frequency rank
#751
“langsam” frequency rank
5035
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature langem langsam
Definition Dativ Singular Maskulinum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs lang eine niedrige Geschwindigkeit aufweisend, lange Zeit benötigend

Where the eye mixes langem and langsam

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
langem
7 ch
langsam

Visual trap between langem and langsam

A purely visual mix-up. langem ([ˈlaŋəm]) and langsam ([ˈlaŋzaːm]) 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 5035, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

langem is recorded at frequency rank #4,284, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaŋəm]. langsam is at rank #751, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaŋzaːm].

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 5035, this pair ranks #1,995,975 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of langem vs langsam

Shared letters: aglmn. Private to "langem": e. Private to "langsam": s.

"langem" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "langsam" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • langemalngem · lagnem · lanegm · langemm · langgem · langme · lanngem · llangem
  • langsamalngsam · lagnsam · langasm · langgsam · langsamm · langsma · langssam · lanngsam

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "langem" for "langsam" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaŋəm] versus [ˈlaŋzaːm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "langem" vs "langsam" - which ranks higher?
"langsam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #751 in our German list, against #4,284 for "langem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "langem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "langsam" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,995,975 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "langem" and "langsam" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "langem vs lautem". 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 #1,995,975 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list