langesvsLanzeConfusable pair

Quick tell: langes is a adjective, Lanze is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“langes” is an adjective and “Lanze” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,500
“langes” frequency rank
#22,413
“Lanze” frequency rank
29913
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature langes Lanze
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum Positiv der starken Flexion des Adjektivs lang Waffe für den Nahkampf (als Stoßwaffe), aber auch im Fernkampf (als Wurfwaffe) wie ein Speer einsetzbar; lange Stange (mehrere Meter) mit einer Spitze aus besonders hartem Material

Where the eye mixes langes and Lanze

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
langes
5 ch
Lanze

Look-alike desk: langes vs Lanze

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: langes is [ˈlaŋəs] while Lanze is [ˈlant͡sə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29913, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

langes is recorded at frequency rank #7,500, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaŋəs]. Lanze is at rank #22,413, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlant͡sə].

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 29913, this pair ranks #1,757,888 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of langes vs Lanze

Shared letters: aeln. Private to "langes": gs. Private to "Lanze": z.

"langes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "Lanze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • langesalnges · lagnes · lanegs · langess · langges · langse · lannges · llanges
  • Lanzealnze · lanez · lannze · lanzze · lazne · llanze · lnaze

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "langes" and "Lanze" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "langes" is an adjective and "Lanze" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "langes" vs "Lanze" - which ranks higher?
"langes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,500 in our German list, against #22,413 for "Lanze". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "langes" and "Lanze" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "langes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lanze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,757,888 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "langes" and "Lanze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs Lanze". 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 #1,757,888 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