Which to use
“lac” is a noun and “lax” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,041
- “lac” frequency rank
- #43,323
- “lax” frequency rank
- 80364
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lac | lax |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | See | nicht streng (in der Auslegung von Regeln) |
Where the eye mixes lac and lax
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lac and lax follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: lac vs lax
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lac is [lak] while lax is [laks]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “lac” becomes x in “lax”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80364, 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]. lax is at rank #43,323, tagged as anadj, pronounced [laks].
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 80364, this pair ranks #197,126 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lac vs lax
Shared letters: al. Private to "lac": c. Private to "lax": x.
"lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lax" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lac" and "lax" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lac" vs "lax" - 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 "lax" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #197,126 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lac" and "lax" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lame vs lax". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #197,126 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.