Which to use
“Lift” is a noun and “löst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,615
- “Lift” frequency rank
- #3,389
- “löst” frequency rank
- 22004
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lift | löst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | in oder an einem Gebäude befindliche mechanische Vorrichtung, mit der Personen oder Lasten hinauf- beziehungsweise hinabbefördert werden | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lösen |
Where the eye mixes Lift and löst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Lift and löst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lift is [lɪft] while löst is [løːst]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22004, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Lift is recorded at frequency rank #18,615, classified as anoun, pronounced [lɪft]. löst is at rank #3,389, tagged as averb, pronounced [løːst].
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 22004, this pair ranks #1,879,509 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Lift vs löst
Shared letters: lt. Private to "Lift": fi. Private to "löst": sö.
"Lift" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "löst" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Lift ← ilft · lfit · lifft · liftt · litf · llift
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Lift" for "löst" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Lift" or "löst"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lift" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "löst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,879,509 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lift" and "löst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "liefe vs Lift". 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 #1,879,509 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.