lassenvslosenWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“lassen” and “losen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#162
“lassen” frequency rank
#22,422
“losen” frequency rank
22584
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lassen losen
Definition nichts verändern und somit alles so lassen, wie es ist; etwas beim Status quo belassen eine Entscheidung per Los herbeiführen

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
lassen
5 ch
losen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lassen ([ˈlasn̩]) and losen ([ˈloːzn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lassen is recorded at frequency rank #162, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlasn̩]. losen is at rank #22,422, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈloːzn̩].

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 22584, this pair ranks #1,872,395 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lassen vs losen

Shared letters: elns. Private to "lassen": a. Private to "losen": o.

"lassen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "losen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lassenalssen · lasesn · lassenn · lassne · laßen · llassen · lsasen
  • losenllosen · loesn · losenn · losne · lossen · lsoen · olsen

Frequency comparison

lassen#162
losen#22,422

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lassen" and "losen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlasn̩] versus [ˈloːzn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lassen" or "losen"?
"lassen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #162 in our German list, against #22,422 for "losen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering lassen vs losen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lassen” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list