lesenvsLosesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#506
“lesen” frequency rank
#49,058
“Loses” frequency rank
49564
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lesen Loses
Definition Schriftzeichen, Worte und Texte (mithilfe der Augen) wahrnehmen sowie (im Gehirn) verarbeiten und verstehen, sowie dies gegebenenfalls laut vorlesen Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Los

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
lesen
5 ch
Loses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lesen is [ˈleːzn̩] while Loses is [ˈloːzəs]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49564, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lesen is recorded at frequency rank #506, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈleːzn̩]. Loses is at rank #49,058, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈloːzəs].

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 49564, this pair ranks #1,206,700 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lesen vs Loses

Shared letters: els. Private to "lesen": n. Private to "Loses": o.

"lesen" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "Loses" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lesenelsen · leesn · lesenn · lesne · lessen · llesen · lseen
  • Loseslloses · loess · losess · losses · lsoes · olses

Frequency comparison

lesen#506
Loses#49,058

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lesen" and "Loses" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lesen" is a verb and "Loses" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lesen" or "Loses"?
"lesen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #506 in our German list, against #49,058 for "Loses". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering lesen vs Loses

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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