Which to use
“lakh” is a num and “loath” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,258
- “lakh” frequency rank
- #43,241
- “loath” frequency rank
- 64499
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lakh | loath |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | One hundred thousand (10⁵): 100,000, that is, with Indian digit grouping, 1,00,000. | Averse, disinclined; reluctant, unwilling. Always followed by a verbal phrase. |
Where the eye mixes lakh and loath
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lakh runs 4 letters (CVCC) against loath's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lakh and loath
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lakh is /lɑkʰ/ while loath is /ləʊθ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64499, 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/. loath is at rank #43,241, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ləʊθ/.
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 64499, this pair ranks #77,428 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lakh vs loath
Shared letters: ahl. Private to "lakh": k. Private to "loath": ot.
"lakh" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "loath" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lakh" and "loath" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "lakh" or "loath" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "loath" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #77,428 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lakh" and "loath" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loath vs LSAT". 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 #77,428 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.