Which to use
“Läufer” is a noun and “läuft” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,641
- “Läufer” frequency rank
- #585
- “läuft” frequency rank
- 8226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Läufer | läuft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Person, die an einem Wettlauf teilnimmt, die sich laufend vorwärtsbewegt | 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs laufen |
Where the eye mixes Läufer and läuft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Läufer runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against läuft's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses Läufer with läuft
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Läufer is [ˈlɔɪ̯fɐ] while läuft is [lɔɪ̯ft]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8226, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Läufer is recorded at frequency rank #7,641, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɔɪ̯fɐ]. läuft is at rank #585, tagged as averb, pronounced [lɔɪ̯ft].
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 8226, this pair ranks #1,985,131 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Läufer vs läuft
Shared letters: fluä. Private to "Läufer": er. Private to "läuft": t.
"Läufer" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "läuft" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Läufer" for "läuft" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Läufer" or "läuft" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Läufer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "läuft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,985,131 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Läufer" and "läuft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Läufer vs Läufern". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,985,131 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.