lauenvslautemConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#42,647
“lauen” frequency rank
#36,474
“lautem” frequency rank
79121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lauen lautem
Definition Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Adjektivs lau Dativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs laut

Where the eye mixes lauen and lautem

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lauen runs 5 letters (CVVVC) against lautem's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
lauen
6 ch
lautem

Look-alike desk: lauen vs lautem

A purely visual mix-up. lauen ([ˈlaʊ̯ən]) and lautem ([ˈlaʊ̯təm]) 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 79121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lauen is recorded at frequency rank #42,647, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯ən]. lautem is at rank #36,474, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯təm].

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 79121, this pair ranks #223,400 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lauen vs lautem

Shared letters: aelu. Private to "lauen": n. Private to "lautem": mt.

"lauen" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "lautem" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lauen ← aluen · laeun · llauen · luaen
  • lautem ← alutem · latuem · lauetm · lautemm · lautme · lauttem · llautem · luatem

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lauen" and "lautem" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaʊ̯ən] versus [ˈlaʊ̯təm]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lauen" vs "lautem" - which ranks higher?
"lautem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,474 in our German list, against #42,647 for "lauen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lauen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lautem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #223,400 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lauen" and "lautem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lasern vs lauen". 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 #223,400 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