lauevsLäuseWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#38,872
“laue” frequency rank
#43,335
“Läuse” frequency rank
82207
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laue Läuse
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lau Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Laus

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laue and Läuse apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
laue
5 ch
Läuse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laue is [ˈlaʊ̯ə] while Läuse is [ˈlɔɪ̯zə]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82207, 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]. Läuse is at rank #43,335, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɔɪ̯zə].

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 82207, this pair ranks #161,435 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of laue vs Läuse

Shared letters: elu. Private to "laue": a. Private to "Läuse": .

"laue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "Läuse" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lauealue · laeu · llaue · luae

Frequency comparison

laue#38,872
Läuse#43,335

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laue" and "Läuse" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "laue" is an adjective and "Läuse" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "laue" or "Läuse"?
"laue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,872 in our German list, against #43,335 for "Läuse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering laue vs Läuse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “laue”; for a noun, it's “Läuse”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list