Which to use
“locken” and “lösten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,692
- “locken” frequency rank
- #18,977
- “lösten” frequency rank
- 25669
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | locken | lösten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Locken ins Haar machen | 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lösen |
Where the eye mixes locken and lösten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: locken vs lösten
A purely visual mix-up. locken ([ˈlɔkn̩]) and lösten ([ˈløːstn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25669, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
locken is recorded at frequency rank #6,692, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlɔkn̩]. lösten is at rank #18,977, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈløːstn̩].
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 25669, this pair ranks #1,829,788 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of locken vs lösten
Shared letters: eln. Private to "locken": cko. Private to "lösten": stö.
"locken" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lösten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- locken ← lcoken · llocken · loccken · locekn · lockenn · lockken · lockne · lokcen
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "locken" for "lösten" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "locken" or "lösten" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "locken" and "lösten" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "locken" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lösten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,829,788 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "locken" and "lösten" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Loses vs lösten". 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 #1,829,788 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.