Which to use
“ladies” and “lances” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,301
- “ladies” frequency rank
- #48,314
- “lances” frequency rank
- 50615
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ladies | lances |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lady | plural of lance |
Where the eye mixes ladies and lances
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ladies (CVCVVC) and lances (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between ladies and lances
A purely visual mix-up. ladies (/ˈleɪ.diz/) and lances (/ˈlænsɪz/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50615, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ladies is recorded at frequency rank #2,301, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleɪ.diz/. lances is at rank #48,314, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlænsɪz/.
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 50615, this pair ranks #172,670 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ladies vs lances
Shared letters: aels. Private to "ladies": di. Private to "lances": cn.
"ladies" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "lances" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ladies" for "lances" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ladies" or "lances"?
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 "ladies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lances" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #172,670 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ladies" and "lances" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lances vs Laney". 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 #172,670 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.