lasvsLLWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: las is a verb, LL is a character, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“las” is a verb and “LL” is a character - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,265
“las” frequency rank
#25,651
“LL” frequency rank
28916
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature las LL
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lesen 17. Buchstabe des modernen albanischen Alphabets (Großschrift)

Where the eye mixes las and LL

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
las
2 ch
LL

Visual trap between las and LL

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: las is [laːs] while LL is [l̪ˠ(ə)]. 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 (verb vs character), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28916, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

las is recorded at frequency rank #3,265, classified as averb, pronounced [laːs]. LL is at rank #25,651, tagged as acharacter, pronounced [l̪ˠ(ə)].

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 28916, this pair ranks #1,776,278 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of las vs LL

Shared letters: l. Private to "las": as. Private to "LL": -.

"las" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "LL" · 2 letters · shape CC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "las" for "LL" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "las" is a verb and "LL" a character, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "las" or "LL" show up more?
"las" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,265 in our German list, against #25,651 for "LL". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "las" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "LL" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,776,278 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "las" and "LL" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lai vs LL". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,776,278 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