Which to use
“laufend” is an adjective and “Läufern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,528
- “laufend” frequency rank
- #47,574
- “Läufern” frequency rank
- 60102
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laufend | Läufern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | im Gange seiend, aktuell | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Läufer |
Where the eye mixes laufend and Läufern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. laufend and Läufern follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between laufend and Läufern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laufend is [ˈlaʊ̯fn̩t] while Läufern is [ˈlɔɪ̯fɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60102, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laufend is recorded at frequency rank #12,528, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlaʊ̯fn̩t]. Läufern is at rank #47,574, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɔɪ̯fɐn].
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 60102, this pair ranks #799,503 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laufend vs Läufern
Shared letters: eflnu. Private to "laufend": ad. Private to "Läufern": rä.
"laufend" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC · "Läufern" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- laufend ← alufend · lafuend · lauefnd · laufedn · laufendd · laufennd · lauffend · laufned
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laufend" for "Läufern" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "laufend" or "Läufern" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "laufend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Läufern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #799,503 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laufend" and "Läufern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lasern vs Läufern". 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 #799,503 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.