lockenvsLückenWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#6,692
“locken” frequency rank
#8,908
“Lücken” frequency rank
15600
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature locken Lücken
Definition Locken ins Haar machen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Lücke

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set locken and Lücken apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
locken
6 ch
Lücken

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

locken and Lücken form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - o in “locken” becomes ü in “Lücken” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15600, 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]. Lücken is at rank #8,908, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlʏkn̩].

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 15600, this pair ranks #1,942,576 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

locken#6,692
Lücken#8,908

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "locken" and "Lücken" be used interchangeably?
No, "locken" and "Lücken" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering locken vs Lücken

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “locken”; for a noun, it's “Lücken”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “locken” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list