lauevsleaveWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#38,872
“laue” frequency rank
#25,643
“leave” frequency rank
64515
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laue leave
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lau von einem Ort weggehen; verlassen

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
laue
5 ch
leave

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laue is [ˈlaʊ̯ə] while leave is [liːv]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64515, 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]. leave is at rank #25,643, tagged as averb, pronounced [liːv].

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 64515, this pair ranks #638,807 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laue vs leave

Shared letters: ael. Private to "laue": u. Private to "leave": v.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lauealue · laeu · llaue · luae
  • leaveelave · laeve · leaev · leavve · levae · lleave

Frequency comparison

laue#38,872
leave#25,643

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laue" and "leave" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "laue" is an adjective and "leave" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "laue" or "leave"?
"leave" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,643 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 leave

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 “leave”.
  • 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