LautvsluzConfusable pair

Which to use

“Laut” and “luz” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#505
“Laut” frequency rank
#35,899
“luz” frequency rank
36404
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Laut luz
Definition ein Geräusch etwas, das Dinge sichtbar macht oder Beleuchtung produziert

Where the eye mixes Laut and luz

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Laut
3 ch
luz

Why the eye confuses Laut with luz

A purely visual mix-up. Laut ([laʊ̯t]) and luz ([luʃ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36404, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Laut is recorded at frequency rank #505, classified as anoun, pronounced [laʊ̯t]. luz is at rank #35,899, tagged as anoun, pronounced [luʃ].

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 36404, this pair ranks #1,616,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Laut vs luz

Shared letters: lu. Private to "Laut": at. Private to "luz": z.

"Laut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "luz" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lautalut · latu · lautt · llaut · luat

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Laut" and "luz" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([laʊ̯t] versus [luʃ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "Laut" vs "luz" - which ranks higher?
"Laut" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #505 in our German list, against #35,899 for "luz". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "Laut" and "luz" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Laut" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "luz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,616,452 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Laut" and "luz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lai vs luz". 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 #1,616,452 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list