Which to use
“mitlaufen” is a verb and “Mitläufer” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,526
- “mitlaufen” frequency rank
- #26,970
- “Mitläufer” frequency rank
- 66496
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mitlaufen | Mitläufer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | es auch und parallel zu jemandem tun, wenn der sich schnell bewegt (läuft), gemeinsam rennen | jemand, der ohne besonderes Engagement bei etwas mitmacht |
Where the eye mixes mitlaufen and Mitläufer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. mitlaufen and Mitläufer follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between mitlaufen and Mitläufer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mitlaufen is [ˈmɪtˌlaʊ̯fn̩] while Mitläufer is [ˈmɪtˌlɔɪ̯fɐ]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66496, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mitlaufen is recorded at frequency rank #39,526, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmɪtˌlaʊ̯fn̩]. Mitläufer is at rank #26,970, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmɪtˌlɔɪ̯fɐ].
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 66496, this pair ranks #571,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mitlaufen vs Mitläufer
Shared letters: efilmtu. Private to "mitlaufen": an. Private to "Mitläufer": rä.
"mitlaufen" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC · "Mitläufer" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mitlaufen ← imtlaufen · miltaufen · mitalufen · mitlafuen · mitlauefn · mitlaufenn · mitlauffen · mitlaufne
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mitlaufen" for "Mitläufer" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mitlaufen" or "Mitläufer"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mitlaufen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Mitläufer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #571,284 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- 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 #571,284 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.