löschvslöschenConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#20,332
“lösch” frequency rank
#3,388
“löschen” frequency rank
23720
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lösch löschen
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs löschen ein Feuer vernichten

Where the eye mixes lösch and löschen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lösch runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against löschen's 7 (CVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
lösch
7 ch
löschen

Why the eye confuses lösch with löschen

A purely visual mix-up. lösch ([lœʃ]) and löschen ([ˈlœʃn̩]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “lösch” sits inside “löschen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lösch is recorded at frequency rank #20,332, classified as averb, pronounced [lœʃ]. löschen is at rank #3,388, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlœʃn̩].

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 23720, this pair ranks #1,857,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lösch vs löschen

Shared letters: chlsö. Private to "lösch": -. Private to "löschen": en.

"lösch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "löschen" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lösch" and "löschen" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([lœʃ] versus [ˈlœʃn̩]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lösch" vs "löschen" - which ranks higher?
"löschen" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,388 in our German list, against #20,332 for "lösch". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lösch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "löschen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,857,516 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lösch" and "löschen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lösch vs Loses". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,857,516 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