LaubvsLaufConfusable pair

Which to use

“Laub” and “Lauf” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,886
“Laub” frequency rank
#1,737
“Lauf” frequency rank
15623
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Laub Lauf
Definition Gesamtheit der Blattorgane von Laubbäumen und Sträuchern schnelle Fortbewegung zu Fuß, bei der kurzzeitig kein Bodenkontakt besteht

Where the eye mixes Laub and Lauf

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Laub
4 ch
Lauf

Look-alike desk: Laub vs Lauf

A purely visual mix-up. Laub ([laʊ̯p]) and Lauf ([laʊ̯f]) 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 a single letter - b in “Laub” becomes f in “Lauf”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15623, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Laub is recorded at frequency rank #13,886, classified as anoun, pronounced [laʊ̯p]. Lauf is at rank #1,737, tagged as anoun, pronounced [laʊ̯f].

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 15623, this pair ranks #1,942,407 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Laub vs Lauf

Shared letters: alu. Private to "Laub": b. Private to "Lauf": f.

"Laub" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Lauf" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Laubalub · labu · laubb · llaub · luab
  • Laufaluf · lafu · lauff · llauf · luaf

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Laub" for "Lauf" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([laʊ̯p] versus [laʊ̯f]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Laub" or "Lauf"?
"Lauf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,737 in our German list, against #13,886 for "Laub". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Laub" and "Lauf" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Laub" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lauf" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,942,407 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Laub" and "Lauf" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs Laub". 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 #1,942,407 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list