Which to use
“längst” is an adverb and “läufst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,520
- “längst” frequency rank
- #25,224
- “läufst” frequency rank
- 26744
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | längst | läufst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schon lange, seit langem, seit langer/längerer Zeit | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs laufen |
Where the eye mixes längst and läufst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. längst (CVCCCC) and läufst (CVVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: längst vs läufst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: längst is [lɛŋst] while läufst is [lɔɪ̯fst]. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26744, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
längst is recorded at frequency rank #1,520, classified as anadv, pronounced [lɛŋst]. läufst is at rank #25,224, tagged as averb, pronounced [lɔɪ̯fst].
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 26744, this pair ranks #1,813,127 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of längst vs läufst
Shared letters: lstä. Private to "längst": gn. Private to "läufst": fu.
"längst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC · "läufst" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "längst" and "läufst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "längst" vs "läufst" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "längst" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "läufst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,813,127 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "längst" and "läufst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lädst vs läufst". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,813,127 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.