Which to use
“lah” is a noun and “lex” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,894
- “lah” frequency rank
- #14,983
- “lex” frequency rank
- 59877
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lah | lex |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alternative spelling of la. | To perform lexical analysis; to convert a character stream to a token stream as a preliminary to parsing. |
Where the eye mixes lah and lex
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lah vs lex
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lah is /lɑː/ while lex is /lɛks/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59877, 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/. lex is at rank #14,983, tagged as averb, pronounced /lɛks/.
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 59877, this pair ranks #103,560 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lah vs lex
Shared letters: l. Private to "lah": ah. Private to "lex": ex.
"lah" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lex" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lah" for "lex" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "lah" or "lex" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lah" and "lex" 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 "lex" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #103,560 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lah" and "lex" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lah vs LSC". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #103,560 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.