LochvslolWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Loch is a noun, lol is an abbrev, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#3,054
“Loch” frequency rank
#3,266
“lol” frequency rank
6320
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Loch lol
Definition Stelle in einer homogenen Masse, an der Substanz fehlt Kürzel, das ausdrückt, dass man laut lacht beziehungsweise etwas sehr lustig findet

Where the eye mixes Loch and lol

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

4 ch
Loch
3 ch
lol

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Loch is [lɔx] while lol is [lɔl]. 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 abbrev), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6320, 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]. lol is at rank #3,266, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [lɔl].

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 6320, this pair ranks #1,992,028 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Loch vs lol

Shared letters: lo. Private to "Loch": ch. Private to "lol": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lochlcoh · lloch · locch · lochh · lohc · olch

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Loch" and "lol" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Loch" is a noun and "lol" an abbrev, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Loch" or "lol"?
"Loch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,054 in our German list, against #3,266 for "lol". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "Loch" and "lol". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Loch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lol" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,992,028 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Loch" and "lol" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lol 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list