Which to use
“laces” and “leaves” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,812
- “laces” frequency rank
- #1,698
- “leaves” frequency rank
- 26510
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laces | leaves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lace | plural of leaf |
Where the eye mixes laces and leaves
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. laces runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against leaves's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: laces vs leaves
A purely visual mix-up. laces (/ˈleɪ.sɪz/) and leaves (/liːvz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26510, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laces is recorded at frequency rank #24,812, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.sɪz/. leaves is at rank #1,698, tagged as anoun, pronounced /liːvz/.
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 26510, this pair ranks #386,169 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laces vs leaves
Shared letters: aels. Private to "laces": c. Private to "leaves": v.
"laces" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "leaves" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "laces" for "leaves" ever safe?
Which is more common, "laces" or "leaves"?
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 "laces" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leaves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #386,169 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laces" and "leaves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laces vs laver". 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 #386,169 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.