Which to use
“laufen” is a verb and “laufend” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #765
- “laufen” frequency rank
- #12,528
- “laufend” frequency rank
- 13293
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laufen | laufend |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sich auf den Beinen oder Gliedmaßen fortbewegen; regional verschieden hat dieses Verb die Grundbedeutung „schnell gehen“ oder mit „mäßiger Geschwindigkeit gehen“, aber es wird überregional für mäßiges (bzw. langsames) Gehen in dem Ausdruck „das Kind läuft schon“ benutzt und wird in entsprechendem Kontext auch in solchen Regionen als mäßiges Gehen verstanden, wo üblicherweise „gehen“ statt „laufen“ benutzt wird (z.B. „nach Hause laufen“, süddeutsch und österreichisch „nach Hause gehen“) | im Gange seiend, aktuell |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laufen and laufend apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
laufen and laufend form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “laufen” sits inside “laufend” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13293, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laufen is recorded at frequency rank #765, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯fn̩]. laufend is at rank #12,528, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯fn̩t].
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 13293, this pair ranks #1,958,900 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "laufen" and "laufend" be used interchangeably?
Remembering laufen vs laufend
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “laufen”; for an adjective, it's “laufend”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “laufen” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable