lauevslauterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,872
“laue” frequency rank
#2,982
“lauter” frequency rank
41854
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laue lauter
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lau einer ehrlichen, redlichen, aufrichtigen Verhaltensweise entsprechend

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
laue
6 ch
lauter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laue ([ˈlaʊ̯ə]) and lauter ([ˈlaʊ̯tɐ]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41854, 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]. lauter is at rank #2,982, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯tɐ].

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 41854, this pair ranks #1,467,055 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laue vs lauter

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

"laue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "lauter" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lauealue · laeu · llaue · luae
  • lauteraluter · latuer · lauetr · lauterr · lautre · lautter · llauter · luater

Frequency comparison

laue#38,872
lauter#2,982

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laue" and "lauter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaʊ̯ə] versus [ˈlaʊ̯tɐ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "laue" or "lauter"?
"lauter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,982 in our German list, against #38,872 for "laue". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering laue vs lauter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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