lasenvsLaunenConfusable pair

Quick tell: lasen is a verb, Launen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lasen” is a verb and “Launen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,289
“lasen” frequency rank
#39,499
“Launen” frequency rank
67788
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lasen Launen
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lesen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Laune

Where the eye mixes lasen and Launen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lasen runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Launen's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
lasen
6 ch
Launen

Why the eye confuses lasen with Launen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lasen is [ˈlaːzn̩] while Launen is [ˈlaʊ̯nən]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67788, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lasen is recorded at frequency rank #28,289, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaːzn̩]. Launen is at rank #39,499, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯nən].

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 67788, this pair ranks #528,741 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lasen vs Launen

Shared letters: aeln. Private to "lasen": s. Private to "Launen": u.

"lasen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Launen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lasen ← alsen · laesn · lasenn · lasne · llasen · lsaen
  • Launen ← alunen · lanuen · lauenn · launenn · launnen · llaunen · luanen

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lasen" for "Launen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lasen" is a verb and "Launen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "lasen" vs "Launen" - which ranks higher?
"lasen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,289 in our German list, against #39,499 for "Launen". 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 "lasen" and "Launen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lasen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Launen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #528,741 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lasen" and "Launen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Läufern vs Launen". 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 #528,741 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