löschvsloserWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#20,332
“lösch” frequency rank
#13,889
“loser” frequency rank
34221
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lösch loser
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs löschen Nominativ Singular Maskulinum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs lose

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lösch and loser apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
lösch
5 ch
loser

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lösch is [lœʃ] while loser is [ˈloːzɐ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34221, 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]. loser is at rank #13,889, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈloːzɐ].

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 34221, this pair ranks #1,668,326 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lösch vs loser

Shared letters: ls. Private to "lösch": chö. Private to "loser": eor.

"lösch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "loser" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • loserlloser · loesr · loserr · losre · losser · lsoer · olser

Frequency comparison

lösch#20,332
loser#13,889

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lösch" and "loser" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lösch" is a verb and "loser" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lösch" or "loser"?
"loser" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,889 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.

Remembering lösch vs loser

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lösch”; for an adjective, it's “loser”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lösch” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list