löschevslöschtTell them apart

Which to use

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

#25,654
“lösche” frequency rank
#15,940
“löscht” frequency rank
41594
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lösche löscht
Definition 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs löschen 2. Person Plural Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs löschen

Where the eye mixes lösche and löscht

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
lösche
6 ch
löscht

Visual trap between lösche and löscht

A purely visual mix-up. lösche ([ˈlœʃə]) and löscht ([lœʃt]) 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 a single letter - e in “lösche” becomes t in “löscht”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lösche is recorded at frequency rank #25,654, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlœʃə]. löscht is at rank #15,940, tagged as averb, pronounced [lœʃt].

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 41594, this pair ranks #1,474,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lösche vs löscht

Shared letters: chlsö. Private to "lösche": e. Private to "löscht": t.

"lösche" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "löscht" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lösche" and "löscht" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlœʃə] versus [lœʃt]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lösche" or "löscht"?
"löscht" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,940 in our German list, against #25,654 for "lösche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "lösche" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "löscht" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,474,786 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lösche" and "löscht" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lerche vs lösche". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,474,786 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