Which to use
“lau” is an adjective and “Los” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,210
- “lau” frequency rank
- #469
- “Los” frequency rank
- 16679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lau | Los |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | von einer mittleren Temperatur zwischen kühl und warm | Schicksal, unbeeinflussbares Geschick |
Where the eye mixes lau and Los
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lau with Los
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lau is [laʊ̯] while Los is [loːs]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lau is recorded at frequency rank #16,210, classified as anadj, pronounced [laʊ̯]. Los is at rank #469, tagged as anoun, pronounced [loːs].
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 16679, this pair ranks #1,933,862 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lau vs Los
Shared letters: l. Private to "lau": au. Private to "Los": os.
"lau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "Los" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lau" and "Los" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "lau" or "Los"?
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 "lau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Los" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,933,862 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lau" and "Los" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lau". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,933,862 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.