Which to use
“Läufer” and “Launen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,641
- “Läufer” frequency rank
- #39,499
- “Launen” frequency rank
- 47140
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Läufer | Launen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Person, die an einem Wettlauf teilnimmt, die sich laufend vorwärtsbewegt | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Laune |
Where the eye mixes Läufer and Launen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Läufer and Launen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Läufer with Launen
A purely visual mix-up. Läufer ([ˈlɔɪ̯fɐ]) and Launen ([ˈlaʊ̯nən]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47140, 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]. 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 47140, this pair ranks #1,294,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Läufer vs Launen
Shared letters: elu. Private to "Läufer": frä. Private to "Launen": an.
"Läufer" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "Launen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Launen ← alunen · lanuen · lauenn · launenn · launnen · llaunen · luanen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Läufer" for "Launen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Läufer" or "Launen"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Läufer" and "Launen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Läufer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Launen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,294,799 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Läufer" and "Launen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Läufern vs Launen". 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 #1,294,799 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.