Loch vs loh, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#3,054
“Loch” frequency rank: #44,776
“loh” frequency rank: 47830
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Loch	loh
Definition	Stelle in einer homogenen Masse, an der Substanz fehlt	2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lohen

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

Loch

3 ch

loh

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Loch is [lɔx] while loh is [loː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Loch is recorded at frequency rank #3,054, classified as anoun, pronounced [lɔx]. loh is at rank #44,776, tagged as averb, pronounced [loː].

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 47830, this pair ranks #1,270,439 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Loch vs loh

Shared letters: hlo. Private to "Loch": c. Private to "loh": -.

"Loch" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "loh" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

Loch ← lcoh · lloch · locch · lochh · lohc · olch

Frequency comparison

Loch#3,054

loh#44,776

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Loch" and "loh" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Loch" is a noun and "loh" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "Loch" or "loh"?

"Loch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,054 in our German list, against #44,776 for "loh". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Loch vs loh

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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