Which to use
“lakes” and “lashes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,704
- “lakes” frequency rank
- #16,267
- “lashes” frequency rank
- 21971
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lakes | lashes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lake | plural of lash |
Where the eye mixes lakes and lashes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lakes with lashes
A purely visual mix-up. lakes (/leɪks/) and lashes (/ˈlæʃɪz/) 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 21971, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lakes is recorded at frequency rank #5,704, classified as anoun, pronounced /leɪks/. lashes is at rank #16,267, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlæʃɪz/.
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 21971, this pair ranks #420,008 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lakes vs lashes
Shared letters: aels. Private to "lakes": k. Private to "lashes": h.
"lakes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "lashes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lakes" and "lashes" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lakes" vs "lashes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lakes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lashes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #420,008 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lakes" and "lashes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lances vs lashes". 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 #420,008 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.