lauevsLuxTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#38,872
“laue” frequency rank
#14,354
“Lux” frequency rank
53226
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laue Lux
Definition Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs lau Einheit der Beleuchtungsstärke

Where the eye mixes laue and Lux

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
laue
3 ch
Lux

Look-alike desk: laue vs Lux

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laue is [ˈlaʊ̯ə] while Lux is [lʊks]. 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 53226, 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]. Lux is at rank #14,354, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lʊks].

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 53226, this pair ranks #1,066,293 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laue vs Lux

Shared letters: lu. Private to "laue": ae. Private to "Lux": x.

"laue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "Lux" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lauealue · laeu · llaue · luae

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "laue" and "Lux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "laue" is an adjective and "Lux" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "laue" or "Lux"?
"Lux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,354 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.

After this comparison

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 "Lux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,066,293 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "laue" and "Lux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs laue". 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 #1,066,293 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list