löschvslöstWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#20,332
“lösch” frequency rank
#3,389
“löst” frequency rank
23721
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lösch löst
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs löschen 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lösen

Where the eye mixes lösch and löst

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lösch runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against löst's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
lösch
4 ch
löst

Visual trap between lösch and löst

A purely visual mix-up. lösch ([lœʃ]) and löst ([løːst]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23721, 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]. 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 23721, this pair ranks #1,857,501 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lösch vs löst

Shared letters: lsö. Private to "lösch": ch. Private to "löst": t.

"lösch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "löst" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lösch" for "löst" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([lœʃ] versus [løːst]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lösch" vs "löst" - which ranks higher?
"löst" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,389 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

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "lösch" 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 #1,857,501 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lösch" and "löst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lösch vs Loses". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,857,501 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