LechnervsLöcherWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Lechner is a name, Löcher is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Lechner” is a name and “Löcher” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,699
“Lechner” frequency rank
#6,449
“Löcher” frequency rank
40148
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lechner Löcher
Definition deutscher Nachname, Familienname Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Loch

Where the eye mixes Lechner and Löcher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
Lechner
6 ch
Löcher

Visual trap between Lechner and Löcher

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lechner is [ˈlɛçnɐ] while Löcher is [ˈlœçɐ]. 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 (name vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lechner is recorded at frequency rank #33,699, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈlɛçnɐ]. Löcher is at rank #6,449, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlœçɐ].

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 40148, this pair ranks #1,516,728 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lechner vs Löcher

Shared letters: cehlr. Private to "Lechner": n. Private to "Löcher": ö.

"Lechner" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "Löcher" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lechnerelchner · lcehner · lecchner · lechenr · lechhner · lechnerr · lechnner · lechnre

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Lechner" and "Löcher" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Lechner" is a name and "Löcher" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "Lechner" or "Löcher" show up more?
"Löcher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,449 in our German list, against #33,699 for "Lechner". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lechner" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Löcher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,516,728 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lechner" and "Löcher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lechner vs Leugner". 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 #1,516,728 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