längst vs lügst, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“längst” is an adverb and “lügst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,520
“längst” frequency rank: #36,489
“lügst” frequency rank: 38009
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	längst	lügst
Definition	schon lange, seit langem, seit langer/längerer Zeit	2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lügen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set längst and lügst apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

längst

5 ch

lügst

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: längst is [lɛŋst] while lügst is [lyːkst]. 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 (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38009, 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]. lügst is at rank #36,489, tagged as averb, pronounced [lyːkst].

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 38009, this pair ranks #1,575,259 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of längst vs lügst

Shared letters: glst. Private to "längst": nä. Private to "lügst": ü.

"längst" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC · "lügst" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Frequency comparison

längst#1,520

lügst#36,489

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "längst" and "lügst" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "längst" is an adverb and "lügst" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "längst" or "lügst"?

"längst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,520 in our German list, against #36,489 for "lügst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering längst vs lügst

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “längst”; for a verb, it's “lügst”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “längst” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable