Which to use
“latent” and “lauen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,645
- “latent” frequency rank
- #42,647
- “lauen” frequency rank
- 75292
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | latent | lauen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vorhanden, aber noch nicht erkennbar, versteckt, verborgen, nicht offenkundig | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs lau |
Where the eye mixes latent and lauen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. latent runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against lauen's 5 (CVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: latent vs lauen
A purely visual mix-up. latent ([laˈtɛnt]) and lauen ([ˈlaʊ̯ən]) 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 75292, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
latent is recorded at frequency rank #32,645, classified as anadj, pronounced [laˈtɛnt]. lauen is at rank #42,647, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯ən].
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 75292, this pair ranks #311,649 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of latent vs lauen
Shared letters: aeln. Private to "latent": t. Private to "lauen": u.
"latent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "lauen" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "latent" for "lauen" ever safe?
Frequency check: "latent" vs "lauen" - which ranks higher?
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 "latent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lauen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #311,649 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "latent" and "lauen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lasern vs lauen". 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 #311,649 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.