Latschen vs löschen, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“Latschen” is a noun and “löschen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,646
“Latschen” frequency rank: #3,388
“löschen” frequency rank: 46034
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Latschen	löschen
Definition	einfacher, flacher, (bequemer, abgetragener) Schuh	ein Feuer vernichten

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Latschen and löschen apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

Latschen

7 ch

löschen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Latschen is [ˈlaːt͡ʃn̩] while löschen is [ˈlœʃn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46034, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Latschen is recorded at frequency rank #42,646, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaːt͡ʃn̩]. löschen is at rank #3,388, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlœʃn̩].

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 46034, this pair ranks #1,332,779 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Latschen vs löschen

Shared letters: cehlns. Private to "Latschen": at. Private to "löschen": ö.

"Latschen" · 8 letters · shape CVCCCCVC · "löschen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

Latschen ← altschen · lastchen · latcshen · latscchen · latscehn · latschenn · latschhen · latschne

Frequency comparison

Latschen#42,646

löschen#3,388

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Latschen" and "löschen" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Latschen" is a noun and "löschen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Latschen" or "löschen"?

"löschen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,388 in our German list, against #42,646 for "Latschen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Latschen vs löschen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Latschen”; for a verb, it's “löschen”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Latschen” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable