Which to use
“lac” is a noun and “las” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,041
- “lac” frequency rank
- #3,265
- “las” frequency rank
- 40306
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lac | las |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | See | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs lesen |
Where the eye mixes lac and las
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lac and las
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lac is [lak] while las is [laːs]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “lac” becomes s in “las”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40306, 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]. las is at rank #3,265, tagged as averb, pronounced [laːs].
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 40306, this pair ranks #1,512,269 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lac vs las
Shared letters: al. Private to "lac": c. Private to "las": s.
"lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "las" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lac" for "las" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lac" vs "las" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "las" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,512,269 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lac" and "las" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs lame". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,512,269 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.