Which to use
“laue” is an adjective and “laufen” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,872
- “laue” frequency rank
- #765
- “laufen” frequency rank
- 39637
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laue | laufen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lau | sich auf den Beinen oder Gliedmaßen fortbewegen; regional verschieden hat dieses Verb die Grundbedeutung „schnell gehen“ oder mit „mäßiger Geschwindigkeit gehen“, aber es wird überregional für mäßiges (bzw. langsames) Gehen in dem Ausdruck „das Kind läuft schon“ benutzt und wird in entsprechendem Kontext auch in solchen Regionen als mäßiges Gehen verstanden, wo üblicherweise „gehen“ statt „laufen“ benutzt wird (z.B. „nach Hause laufen“, süddeutsch und österreichisch „nach Hause gehen“) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laue and laufen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laue is [ˈlaʊ̯ə] while laufen is [ˈlaʊ̯fn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39637, 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]. laufen is at rank #765, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯fn̩].
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 39637, this pair ranks #1,531,168 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of laue vs laufen
Shared letters: aelu. Private to "laue": -. Private to "laufen": fn.
"laue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "laufen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "laue" and "laufen" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "laue" or "laufen"?
Remembering laue vs laufen
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 “laufen”.
- 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