Which to use
“lah” and “lava” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,894
- “lah” frequency rank
- #10,720
- “lava” frequency rank
- 55614
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lah | lava |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alternative spelling of la. | The molten rock ejected by a volcano from a vent such as a crater or fissure; magma that has breached the surface of the earth. |
Where the eye mixes lah and lava
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lah and lava
A purely visual mix-up. lah (/lɑː/) and lava (/ˈlɑːvə/) 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 55614, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lah is recorded at frequency rank #44,894, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɑː/. lava is at rank #10,720, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɑːvə/.
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 55614, this pair ranks #132,271 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lah vs lava
Shared letters: al. Private to "lah": h. Private to "lava": v.
"lah" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lava" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lava ← laav · lavva · llava · lvaa
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lah" and "lava" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lah" or "lava"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lah" and "lava" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lah" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lava" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #132,271 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lah" and "lava" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lah vs LSC". 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 #132,271 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.