Which to use
“lock” and “lösch” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,345
- “lock” frequency rank
- #20,332
- “lösch” frequency rank
- 41677
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lock | lösch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs locken | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs löschen |
Where the eye mixes lock and lösch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lock runs 4 letters (CVCC) against lösch's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lock and lösch
A purely visual mix-up. lock ([lɔk]) and lösch ([lœʃ]) 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 41677, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lock is recorded at frequency rank #21,345, classified as averb, pronounced [lɔk]. lösch is at rank #20,332, tagged as averb, pronounced [lœʃ].
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 41677, this pair ranks #1,472,340 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lock vs lösch
Shared letters: cl. Private to "lock": ko. Private to "lösch": hsö.
"lock" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lösch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lock ← lcok · llock · locck · lockk · lokc · olck
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lock" and "lösch" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lock" vs "lösch" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lock" and "lösch" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lock" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lösch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,472,340 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lock" and "lösch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lösch vs Loses". 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 #1,472,340 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.