lohnenvslöstenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“lohnen” and “lösten” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,518
“lohnen” frequency rank
#18,977
“lösten” frequency rank
29495
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lohnen lösten
Definition sich für etwas Gutes erkenntlich zeigen 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lösen

Where the eye mixes lohnen and lösten

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
lohnen
6 ch
lösten

Why the eye confuses lohnen with lösten

A purely visual mix-up. lohnen ([ˈloːnən]) 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 29495, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lohnen is recorded at frequency rank #10,518, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈloːnən]. 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 29495, this pair ranks #1,765,756 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lohnen vs lösten

Shared letters: eln. Private to "lohnen": ho. Private to "lösten": stö.

"lohnen" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "lösten" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lohnenlhonen · llohnen · lohenn · lohhnen · lohnenn · lohnne · lohnnen · lonhen

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lohnen" and "lösten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈloːnən] versus [ˈløːstn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lohnen" vs "lösten" - which ranks higher?
"lohnen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,518 in our German list, against #18,977 for "lösten". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "lohnen" 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 #1,765,756 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lohnen" 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 #1,765,756 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