Which to use
“lac” is a noun and “lui” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,041
- “lac” frequency rank
- #44,056
- “lui” frequency rank
- 81097
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lac | lui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | See | er |
Where the eye mixes lac and lui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. lac (CVC) and lui (CVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: lac vs lui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lac is [lak] while lui is [lɥi]. 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 pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81097, 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]. lui is at rank #44,056, tagged as apron, pronounced [lɥi].
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 81097, this pair ranks #182,329 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lac vs lui
Shared letters: l. Private to "lac": ac. Private to "lui": iu.
"lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lac" for "lui" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lac" or "lui"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lac" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #182,329 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lac" and "lui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lori vs lui". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #182,329 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.