Which to use
“lac” is a noun and “lack” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,041
- “lac” frequency rank
- #12,118
- “lack” frequency rank
- 49159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lac | lack |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | See | 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs lacken |
Same sound, different letters: lac vs lack
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.
Homophone desk: lac vs lack
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: lac and lack carry the same recorded pronunciation, [lak]. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “lac” sits inside “lack”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lac is recorded at frequency rank #37,041, classified as anoun, pronounced [lak]. lack is at rank #12,118, tagged as averb, pronounced [lak].
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 49159, this pair ranks #1,221,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lac vs lack
Shared letters: acl. Private to "lac": -. Private to "lack": k.
"lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lack" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lack ← alck · lacck · lackk · lakc · lcak · llack
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lac" and "lack" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lac" vs "lack" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
"lac" and "lack" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "lac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lack" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,221,952 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lac" and "lack" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs lame". 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 #1,221,952 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.