lauevslauertWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: laue is a adjective, lauert is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“laue” is an adjective and “lauert” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,872
“laue” frequency rank
#25,216
“lauert” frequency rank
64088
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laue lauert
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lau 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lauern

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laue and lauert apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
laue
6 ch
lauert

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laue is [ˈlaʊ̯ə] while lauert is [ˈlaʊ̯ɐt]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “laue” sits inside “lauert”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laue is recorded at frequency rank #38,872, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯ə]. lauert is at rank #25,216, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯ɐt].

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 64088, this pair ranks #653,856 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laue vs lauert

Shared letters: aelu. Private to "laue": -. Private to "lauert": rt.

"laue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "lauert" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lauealue · laeu · llaue · luae
  • lauertaluert · laeurt · lauerrt · lauertt · lauret · llauert · luaert

Frequency comparison

laue#38,872
lauert#25,216

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laue" and "lauert" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "laue" is an adjective and "lauert" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "laue" or "lauert"?
"lauert" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,216 in our German list, against #38,872 for "laue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering laue vs lauert

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list