lassenvslöstenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#162
“lassen” frequency rank
#18,977
“lösten” frequency rank
19139
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lassen lösten
Definition nichts verändern und somit alles so lassen, wie es ist; etwas beim Status quo belassen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lösen

Where the eye mixes lassen and lösten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
lassen
6 ch
lösten

Why the eye confuses lassen with lösten

A purely visual mix-up. lassen ([ˈlasn̩]) and lösten ([ˈløːstn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19139, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lassen is recorded at frequency rank #162, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlasn̩]. lösten is at rank #18,977, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈløːstn̩].

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 19139, this pair ranks #1,911,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lassen vs lösten

Shared letters: elns. Private to "lassen": a. Private to "lösten": .

"lassen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "lösten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lassenalssen · lasesn · lassenn · lassne · laßen · llassen · lsasen

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lassen" and "lösten" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlasn̩] versus [ˈløːstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lassen" or "lösten"?
"lassen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #162 in our German list, against #18,977 for "lösten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lassen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lösten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,911,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lassen" and "lösten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Loses vs lösten". 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 #1,911,452 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