löschvslösteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#20,332
“lösch” frequency rank
#6,693
“löste” frequency rank
27025
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lösch löste
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs löschen 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lösen

Where the eye mixes lösch and löste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lösch (CVCCC) and löste (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
lösch
5 ch
löste

Why the eye confuses lösch with löste

A purely visual mix-up. lösch ([lœʃ]) and löste ([ˈløːstə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27025, 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]. löste is at rank #6,693, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈløːstə].

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 27025, this pair ranks #1,808,513 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lösch vs löste

Shared letters: lsö. Private to "lösch": ch. Private to "löste": et.

"lösch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "löste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lösch" for "löste" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([lœʃ] versus [ˈløːstə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lösch" vs "löste" - which ranks higher?
"löste" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,693 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.

Useful next steps

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 "löste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,808,513 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lösch" and "löste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lösch vs Loses". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,808,513 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