Which to use
“laue” and “lax” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,872
- “laue” frequency rank
- #43,323
- “lax” frequency rank
- 82195
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laue | lax |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lau | nicht streng (in der Auslegung von Regeln) |
Where the eye mixes laue and lax
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses laue with lax
A purely visual mix-up. laue ([ˈlaʊ̯ə]) and lax ([laks]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82195, 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]. lax is at rank #43,323, tagged as anadj, pronounced [laks].
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 82195, this pair ranks #161,648 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of laue vs lax
Shared letters: al. Private to "laue": eu. Private to "lax": x.
"laue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "lax" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- laue ← alue · laeu · llaue · luae
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laue" for "lax" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "laue" or "lax" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "laue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lax" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #161,648 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laue" and "lax" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lax". 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 #161,648 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.