LochvsLuchsTell them apart

Which to use

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

#3,054
“Loch” frequency rank
#37,657
“Luchs” frequency rank
40711
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Loch Luchs
Definition Stelle in einer homogenen Masse, an der Substanz fehlt Tiergattung Lynx aus der Familie der Katzen ( Felinae)

Where the eye mixes Loch and Luchs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
Loch
5 ch
Luchs

Visual trap between Loch and Luchs

A purely visual mix-up. Loch ([lɔx]) and Luchs ([lʊks]) 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 40711, 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]. Luchs is at rank #37,657, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lʊks].

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 40711, this pair ranks #1,500,640 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Loch vs Luchs

Shared letters: chl. Private to "Loch": o. Private to "Luchs": su.

"Loch" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "Luchs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Lochlcoh · lloch · locch · lochh · lohc · olch
  • Luchslcuhs · lluchs · lucchs · luchhs · luchss · lucsh · luhcs · ulchs

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Loch" for "Luchs" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([lɔx] versus [lʊks]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary German text, does "Loch" or "Luchs" show up more?
"Loch" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,054 in our German list, against #37,657 for "Luchs". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Loch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Luchs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,500,640 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Loch" and "Luchs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lucca vs Luchs". 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 #1,500,640 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