lobtvslöstWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,428
“lobt” frequency rank
#3,389
“löst” frequency rank
16817
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lobt löst
Definition 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs loben 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lösen

Where the eye mixes lobt and löst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
lobt
4 ch
löst

Look-alike desk: lobt vs löst

A purely visual mix-up. lobt ([loːpt]) and löst ([løːst]) 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 16817, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lobt is recorded at frequency rank #13,428, classified as averb, pronounced [loːpt]. 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 16817, this pair ranks #1,932,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lobt vs löst

Shared letters: lt. Private to "lobt": bo. Private to "löst": .

"lobt" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "löst" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lobtlbot · llobt · lobbt · lobtt · lotb · olbt

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lobt" for "löst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([loːpt] versus [løːst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "lobt" or "löst" show up more?
"löst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,389 in our German list, against #13,428 for "lobt". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "lobt" and "löst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lobt" 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 #1,932,777 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lobt" and "löst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lobt vs Lori". 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 #1,932,777 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