Which to use
“lästern” is a verb and “Laterne” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,671
- “lästern” frequency rank
- #15,681
- “Laterne” frequency rank
- 47352
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lästern | Laterne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch verächtliches Gerede beleidigen (insbesondere Gott, etwas Heiliges) | mit einem Schutz gegen Wind und Regen versehene Lichtquelle |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lästern and Laterne apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lästern and Laterne form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 6 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lästern is recorded at frequency rank #31,671, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɛstɐn]. Laterne is at rank #15,681, tagged as anoun, pronounced [laˈtɛʁnə].
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 47352, this pair ranks #1,287,287 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lästern" and "Laterne" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lästern vs Laterne
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lästern”; for a noun, it's “Laterne”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lästern” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable