Which to use
“länger” is an adjective and “Läufer” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #864
- “länger” frequency rank
- #7,641
- “Läufer” frequency rank
- 8505
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | länger | Läufer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Prädikative und adverbielle Form des Komparativs des Adjektivs lang | Person, die an einem Wettlauf teilnimmt, die sich laufend vorwärtsbewegt |
Where the eye mixes länger and Läufer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. länger (CVCCVC) and Läufer (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between länger and Läufer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: länger is [ˈlɛŋɐ] while Läufer is [ˈlɔɪ̯fɐ]. 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 8505, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
länger is recorded at frequency rank #864, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlɛŋɐ]. Läufer is at rank #7,641, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɔɪ̯fɐ].
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 8505, this pair ranks #1,984,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of länger vs Läufer
Shared letters: elrä. Private to "länger": gn. Private to "Läufer": fu.
"länger" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Läufer" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "länger" for "Läufer" ever safe?
Frequency check: "länger" vs "Läufer" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "länger" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Läufer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,984,014 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "länger" and "Läufer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Läufer vs Läufern". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,984,014 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.