Which to use
“Lose” and “Loses” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,246
- “Lose” frequency rank
- #49,058
- “Loses” frequency rank
- 57304
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lose | Loses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Los | Genitiv Singular des Substantivs Los |
Where the eye mixes Lose and Loses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Lose runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Loses's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Lose and Loses
A purely visual mix-up. Lose ([ˈloːzə]) and Loses ([ˈloːzəs]) 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 extra letter(s) - “Lose” sits inside “Loses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57304, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Lose is recorded at frequency rank #8,246, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈloːzə]. Loses is at rank #49,058, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈloːzəs].
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 57304, this pair ranks #906,478 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Lose vs Loses
Shared letters: elos. Private to "Lose": -. Private to "Loses": -.
"Lose" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Loses" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Lose" and "Loses" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "Lose" or "Loses"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Lose" and "Loses" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lose" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Loses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #906,478 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lose" and "Loses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lees vs Loses". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #906,478 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.