Which to use
“loose” is an adjective and “löst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,162
- “loose” frequency rank
- #3,389
- “löst” frequency rank
- 34551
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | loose | löst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | etwas ist locker, nicht fest | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lösen |
Where the eye mixes loose and löst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: loose vs löst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: loose is [luːs] while löst is [løːst]. 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 34551, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
loose is recorded at frequency rank #31,162, classified as anadj, pronounced [luːs]. löst is at rank #3,389, tagged as averb, pronounced [løːst].
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 34551, this pair ranks #1,660,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of loose vs löst
Shared letters: ls. Private to "loose": eo. Private to "löst": tö.
"loose" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "löst" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- loose ← lloose · looes · loosse · losoe · olose
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "loose" for "löst" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "loose" or "löst" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "loose" and "löst" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "loose" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "löst" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,660,714 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "loose" and "löst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loose vs Loses". 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 #1,660,714 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.