Which to use
“Lose” is a noun and “löst” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,246
- “Lose” frequency rank
- #3,389
- “löst” frequency rank
- 11635
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lose | löst |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante für den Dativ Singular des Substantivs Los | 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lösen |
Where the eye mixes Lose and löst
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Lose (CVCV) and löst (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Lose and löst
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lose is [ˈloːzə] while löst is [løːst]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11635, 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]. 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 11635, this pair ranks #1,968,771 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Lose vs löst
Shared letters: ls. Private to "Lose": eo. Private to "löst": tö.
"Lose" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "löst" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Lose ← llose · loes · losse · lsoe · olse
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Lose" and "löst" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "Lose" vs "löst" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lose" 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 #1,968,771 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lose" and "löst" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs Lose". 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 #1,968,771 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.