Which to use
“lästern” is a verb and “Läufern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,671
- “lästern” frequency rank
- #47,574
- “Läufern” frequency rank
- 79245
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lästern | Läufern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | durch verächtliches Gerede beleidigen (insbesondere Gott, etwas Heiliges) | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Läufer |
Where the eye mixes lästern and Läufern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lästern (CVCCVCC) and Läufern (CVVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between lästern and Läufern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lästern is [ˈlɛstɐn] while Läufern is [ˈlɔɪ̯fɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79245, 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]. Läufern is at rank #47,574, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɔɪ̯fɐn].
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 79245, this pair ranks #220,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lästern vs Läufern
Shared letters: elnrä. Private to "lästern": st. Private to "Läufern": fu.
"lästern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "Läufern" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lästern" for "Läufern" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "lästern" or "Läufern" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lästern" and "Läufern" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lästern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Läufern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #220,623 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lästern" and "Läufern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lasern vs Läufern". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #220,623 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.