Which to use
“lakh” is a num and “lakhs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,258
- “lakh” frequency rank
- #26,143
- “lakhs” frequency rank
- 47401
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lakh | lakhs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One hundred thousand (10⁵): 100,000, that is, with Indian digit grouping, 1,00,000. | plural of lakh |
Where the eye mixes lakh and lakhs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lakh runs 4 letters (CVCC) against lakhs's 5 (CVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lakh with lakhs
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lakh is /lɑkʰ/ while lakhs is /lɑːks/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “lakh” sits inside “lakhs”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47401, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lakh is recorded at frequency rank #21,258, classified as anum, pronounced /lɑkʰ/. lakhs is at rank #26,143, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɑːks/.
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 47401, this pair ranks #202,810 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lakh vs lakhs
Shared letters: ahkl. Private to "lakh": -. Private to "lakhs": s.
"lakh" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lakhs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lakh" for "lakhs" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "lakh" or "lakhs" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lakh" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lakhs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #202,810 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lakh" and "lakhs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lah vs lakhs". 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 #202,810 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.