Which to use
“labels” is a noun and “lately” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,259
- “labels” frequency rank
- #3,568
- “lately” frequency rank
- 9827
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | labels | lately |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of label | Recently; not long ago; of late; not long since. |
Where the eye mixes labels and lately
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: labels vs lately
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: labels is /ˈleɪ.bəlz/ while lately is /ˈleɪt.li/. 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 adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9827, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
labels is recorded at frequency rank #6,259, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.bəlz/. lately is at rank #3,568, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈleɪt.li/.
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 9827, this pair ranks #495,378 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of labels vs lately
Shared letters: ael. Private to "labels": bs. Private to "lately": ty.
"labels" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "lately" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "labels" for "lately" ever safe?
Which is more common, "labels" or "lately"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "labels" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lately" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #495,378 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "labels" and "lately" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lally vs lately". 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 #495,378 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.