Which to use
“Los” is a noun and “lösch” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #469
- “Los” frequency rank
- #20,332
- “lösch” frequency rank
- 20801
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Los | lösch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Schicksal, unbeeinflussbares Geschick | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs löschen |
Where the eye mixes Los and lösch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Los runs 3 letters (CVC) against lösch's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: Los vs lösch
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Los is [loːs] while lösch is [lœʃ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Los is recorded at frequency rank #469, classified as anoun, pronounced [loːs]. lösch is at rank #20,332, tagged as averb, pronounced [lœʃ].
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 20801, this pair ranks #1,893,595 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Los vs lösch
Shared letters: ls. Private to "Los": o. Private to "lösch": chö.
"Los" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lösch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Los" for "lösch" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Los" vs "lösch" - which ranks higher?
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 "Los" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lösch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,893,595 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Los" and "lösch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lösch vs Loses". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,893,595 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.