Which to use
“Lai” is a noun and “lass” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47,552
- “Lai” frequency rank
- #863
- “lass” frequency rank
- 48415
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Lai | lass |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | reines Instrumentalstück der mittelalterlichen französischen Musik | keine Energie habend |
Where the eye mixes Lai and lass
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Lai with lass
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lai is [lɛː] while lass is [las]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48415, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Lai is recorded at frequency rank #47,552, classified as anoun, pronounced [lɛː]. lass is at rank #863, tagged as anadj, pronounced [las].
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 48415, this pair ranks #1,249,408 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Lai vs lass
Shared letters: al. Private to "Lai": i. Private to "lass": s.
"Lai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "lass" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lass ← alss · laß · llass · lsas
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Lai" and "lass" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Lai" or "lass"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Lai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lass" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,249,408 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Lai" and "lass" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lai 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 #1,249,408 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.