läufstvsLautWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#25,224
“läufst” frequency rank
#505
“Laut” frequency rank
25729
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature läufst Laut
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs laufen ein Geräusch

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set läufst and Laut apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
läufst
4 ch
Laut

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: läufst is [lɔɪ̯fst] while Laut is [laʊ̯t]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25729, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

läufst is recorded at frequency rank #25,224, classified as averb, pronounced [lɔɪ̯fst]. Laut is at rank #505, tagged as anoun, pronounced [laʊ̯t].

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 25729, this pair ranks #1,828,857 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of läufst vs Laut

Shared letters: ltu. Private to "läufst": fsä. Private to "Laut": a.

"läufst" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC  ·  "Laut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lautalut · latu · lautt · llaut · luat

Frequency comparison

läufst#25,224
Laut#505

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "läufst" and "Laut" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "läufst" is a verb and "Laut" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "läufst" or "Laut"?
"Laut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #505 in our German list, against #25,224 for "läufst". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering läufst vs Laut

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “läufst”; for a noun, it's “Laut”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “läufst” 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