Which to use
“lads” and “las” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,811
- “lads” frequency rank
- #4,463
- “las” frequency rank
- 13274
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lads | las |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lad | plural of la |
Where the eye mixes lads and las
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lads with las
A purely visual mix-up. lads (/lædz/) and las (/lɑːz/) 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 13274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lads is recorded at frequency rank #8,811, classified as anoun, pronounced /lædz/. las is at rank #4,463, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɑːz/.
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 13274, this pair ranks #476,767 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lads vs las
Shared letters: als. Private to "lads": d. Private to "las": -.
"lads" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "las" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lads ← alds · ladds · ladss · lasd · ldas · llads
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lads" and "las" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "lads" or "las" show up more?
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 "lads" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "las" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #476,767 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lads" and "las" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lads 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 #476,767 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.