lohvslowTell them apart

Quick tell: loh is a verb, low is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“loh” is a verb and “low” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,776
“loh” frequency rank
#7,361
“low” frequency rank
52137
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loh low
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lohen etwas hat eine niedrige Höhe

Where the eye mixes loh and low

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
loh
3 ch
low

Visual trap between loh and low

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: loh is [loː] while low is [ləʊ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - h in “loh” becomes w in “low”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52137, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loh is recorded at frequency rank #44,776, classified as averb, pronounced [loː]. low is at rank #7,361, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ləʊ].

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 52137, this pair ranks #1,108,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of loh vs low

Shared letters: lo. Private to "loh": h. Private to "low": w.

"loh" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "low" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "loh" for "low" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "loh" is a verb and "low" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary German text, does "loh" or "low" show up more?
"low" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,361 in our German list, against #44,776 for "loh". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "loh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "low" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,108,607 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "loh" and "low" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loh vs Lori". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,108,607 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