Which to use
“lockeren” is an adjective and “lockern” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,989
- “lockeren” frequency rank
- #23,223
- “lockern” frequency rank
- 43212
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lockeren | lockern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs locker | locker machen |
Where the eye mixes lockeren and lockern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. lockeren runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against lockern's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lockeren and lockern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lockeren is [ˈlɔkəʁən] while lockern is [ˈlɔkɐn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lockeren is recorded at frequency rank #19,989, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈlɔkəʁən]. lockern is at rank #23,223, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlɔkɐn].
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 43212, this pair ranks #1,425,212 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lockeren vs lockern
Shared letters: ceklnor. Private to "lockeren": -. Private to "lockern": -.
"lockeren" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "lockern" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lockeren" and "lockern" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "lockeren" or "lockern" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lockeren" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lockern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,425,212 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lockeren" and "lockern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lockern vs lockert". 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 #1,425,212 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.