Which to use
“lah” and “loy” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,894
- “lah” frequency rank
- #45,491
- “loy” frequency rank
- 90385
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lah | loy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alternative spelling of la. | A type of one-eared spade used in Ireland. |
Where the eye mixes lah and loy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. lah (CVC) and loy (CVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: lah vs loy
A purely visual mix-up. lah (/lɑː/) and loy (/lɔɪ/) 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 90385, 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/. loy is at rank #45,491, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɔɪ/.
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 90385, this pair ranks #4,265 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lah vs loy
Shared letters: l. Private to "lah": ah. Private to "loy": oy.
"lah" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "loy" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lah" and "loy" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lah" vs "loy" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lah" and "loy" 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 "loy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,265 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lah" and "loy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loy vs LSC". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #4,265 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.