LäufernvsliefernWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#47,574
“Läufern” frequency rank
#2,455
“liefern” frequency rank
50029
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Läufern liefern
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Läufer Ware zum Käufer transportieren

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Läufern and liefern apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
Läufern
7 ch
liefern

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Läufern is [ˈlɔɪ̯fɐn] while liefern is [ˈliːfɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Läufern is recorded at frequency rank #47,574, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɔɪ̯fɐn]. liefern is at rank #2,455, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈliːfɐn].

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 50029, this pair ranks #1,189,283 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Läufern vs liefern

Shared letters: eflnr. Private to "Läufern": . Private to "liefern": i.

"Läufern" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC  ·  "liefern" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • liefernilefern · leifern · lieefrn · liefenr · liefernn · lieferrn · lieffern · liefren

Frequency comparison

Läufern#47,574
liefern#2,455

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Läufern" and "liefern" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Läufern" is a noun and "liefern" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Läufern" or "liefern"?
"liefern" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,455 in our German list, against #47,574 for "Läufern". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Läufern vs liefern

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Läufern”; for a verb, it's “liefern”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Läufern” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list