LaufvsLeutWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,737
“Lauf” frequency rank
#26,503
“Leut” frequency rank
28240
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lauf Leut
Definition schnelle Fortbewegung zu Fuß, bei der kurzzeitig kein Bodenkontakt besteht menschliches Lebewesen (meist weiblichen Geschlechts)

Where the eye mixes Lauf and Leut

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

4 ch
Lauf
4 ch
Leut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Lauf ([laʊ̯f]) and Leut ([lɔɪ̯t]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28240, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lauf is recorded at frequency rank #1,737, classified as anoun, pronounced [laʊ̯f]. Leut is at rank #26,503, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lɔɪ̯t].

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 28240, this pair ranks #1,788,202 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lauf vs Leut

Shared letters: lu. Private to "Lauf": af. Private to "Leut": et.

"Lauf" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "Leut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Laufaluf · lafu · lauff · llauf · luaf
  • Leutelut · letu · leutt · lleut · luet

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lauf" and "Leut" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([laʊ̯f] versus [lɔɪ̯t]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Lauf" or "Leut"?
"Lauf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,737 in our German list, against #26,503 for "Leut". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "Lauf" and "Leut". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lauf" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Leut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,788,202 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lauf" and "Leut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs Leut". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list