Which to use
“lichen” and “Löchern” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,482
- “lichen” frequency rank
- #18,323
- “Löchern” frequency rank
- 54805
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lichen | Löchern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Flechte | Dativ Plural des Substantivs Loch |
Where the eye mixes lichen and Löchern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lichen and Löchern
A purely visual mix-up. lichen ([li.ken]) and Löchern ([ˈlœçɐn]) 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 54805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lichen is recorded at frequency rank #36,482, classified as anoun, pronounced [li.ken]. Löchern is at rank #18,323, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlœçɐn].
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 54805, this pair ranks #1,004,301 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lichen vs Löchern
Shared letters: cehln. Private to "lichen": i. Private to "Löchern": rö.
"lichen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "Löchern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lichen ← ilchen · lcihen · licchen · licehn · lichenn · lichhen · lichne · lihcen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lichen" for "Löchern" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "lichen" or "Löchern" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lichen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Löchern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,004,301 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lichen" and "Löchern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lichen vs liken". 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 #1,004,301 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.