LöchernvslöschenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Löchern is a noun, löschen is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#18,323
“Löchern” frequency rank
#3,388
“löschen” frequency rank
21711
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Löchern löschen
Definition Dativ Plural des Substantivs Loch ein Feuer vernichten

Where the eye mixes Löchern and löschen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. Löchern (CVCCVCC) and löschen (CVCCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
Löchern
7 ch
löschen

Look-alike desk: Löchern vs löschen

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Löchern is [ˈlœçɐn] while löschen is [ˈlœʃn̩]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 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 21711, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Löchern is recorded at frequency rank #18,323, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlœçɐn]. löschen is at rank #3,388, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlœʃn̩].

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 21711, this pair ranks #1,883,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Löchern vs löschen

Shared letters: cehlnö. Private to "Löchern": r. Private to "löschen": s.

"Löchern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "löschen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Löchern" for "löschen" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Löchern" is a noun and "löschen" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Löchern" or "löschen"?
"löschen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,388 in our German list, against #18,323 for "Löchern". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Löchern" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "löschen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,883,033 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Löchern" and "löschen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Löchern vs lockert". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,883,033 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