Which to use
“Lanze” is a noun and “laue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,413
- “Lanze” frequency rank
- #38,872
- “laue” frequency rank
- 61285
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lanze | laue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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 | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lau |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lanze and laue apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lanze is [ˈlant͡sə] while laue is [ˈlaʊ̯ə]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61285, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Lanze is recorded at frequency rank #22,413, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlant͡sə]. laue is at rank #38,872, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯ə].
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 61285, this pair ranks #755,500 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Lanze vs laue
Shared letters: ael. Private to "Lanze": nz. Private to "laue": u.
"Lanze" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "laue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Lanze" and "laue" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Lanze" or "laue"?
Remembering Lanze vs laue
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Lanze”; for an adjective, it's “laue”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Lanze” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable