LeuvsLokWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#42,653
“Leu” frequency rank
#12,122
“Lok” frequency rank
54775
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Leu Lok
Definition Löwe Lokomotive

Where the eye mixes Leu and Lok

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
Leu
3 ch
Lok

Why the eye confuses Leu with Lok

A purely visual mix-up. Leu ([lɔɪ̯]) and Lok ([lɔk]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54775, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Leu is recorded at frequency rank #42,653, classified as anoun, pronounced [lɔɪ̯]. Lok is at rank #12,122, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lɔk].

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 54775, this pair ranks #1,005,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Leu vs Lok

Shared letters: l. Private to "Leu": eu. Private to "Lok": ko.

"Leu" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "Lok" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Leu" and "Lok" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lɔɪ̯] versus [lɔk]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Leu" or "Lok" show up more?
"Lok" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,122 in our German list, against #42,653 for "Leu". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Leu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lok" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,005,541 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Leu" and "Lok" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs Leu". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,005,541 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