LesbenvslosenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#8,241
“Lesben” frequency rank
#22,422
“losen” frequency rank
30663
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lesben losen
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Lesbe eine Entscheidung per Los herbeiführen

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Lesben and losen apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
Lesben
5 ch
losen

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lesben is [ˈlɛsbn̩] while losen is [ˈloːzn̩]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30663, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lesben is recorded at frequency rank #8,241, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛsbn̩]. losen is at rank #22,422, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈloːzn̩].

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 30663, this pair ranks #1,743,489 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Lesben vs losen

Shared letters: elns. Private to "Lesben": b. Private to "losen": o.

"Lesben" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "losen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lesbenelsben · lebsen · lesbben · lesbenn · lesbne · lesebn · lessben · llesben
  • losenllosen · loesn · losenn · losne · lossen · lsoen · olsen

Frequency comparison

Lesben#8,241
losen#22,422

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Lesben" and "losen" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Lesben" is a noun and "losen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Lesben" or "losen"?
"Lesben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,241 in our German list, against #22,422 for "losen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Lesben vs losen

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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