Which to use
“laden” is an adjective and “lain” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,571
- “laden” frequency rank
- #34,154
- “lain” frequency rank
- 44725
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laden | lain |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Weighed down with a load, burdened. | past participle of lie (“to be oriented in a horizontal position, situated”) |
Where the eye mixes laden and lain
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses laden with lain
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: laden is /ˈleɪdən/ while lain is /leɪn/. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laden is recorded at frequency rank #10,571, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈleɪdən/. lain is at rank #34,154, tagged as averb, pronounced /leɪn/.
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 44725, this pair ranks #227,944 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of laden vs lain
Shared letters: aln. Private to "laden": de. Private to "lain": i.
"laden" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "lain" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "laden" and "lain" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "laden" vs "lain" - which ranks higher?
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 "laden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lain" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #227,944 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laden" and "lain" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lain vs lav". 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 #227,944 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.