laufevsLaunenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: laufe is a verb, Launen is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“laufe” is a verb and “Launen” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,851
“laufe” frequency rank
#39,499
“Launen” frequency rank
41350
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laufe Launen
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs laufen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Laune

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laufe and Launen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
laufe
6 ch
Launen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laufe is [ˈlaʊ̯fə] while Launen is [ˈlaʊ̯nən]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41350, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laufe is recorded at frequency rank #1,851, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯fə]. Launen is at rank #39,499, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯nən].

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 41350, this pair ranks #1,482,078 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laufe vs Launen

Shared letters: aelu. Private to "laufe": f. Private to "Launen": n.

"laufe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "Launen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laufealufe · lafue · lauef · lauffe · llaufe · luafe
  • Launenalunen · lanuen · lauenn · launenn · launnen · llaunen · luanen

Frequency comparison

laufe#1,851
Launen#39,499

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laufe" and "Launen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "laufe" is a verb and "Launen" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "laufe" or "Launen"?
"laufe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,851 in our German list, against #39,499 for "Launen". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering laufe vs Launen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “laufe”; for a noun, it's “Launen”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “laufe” 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