Which to use
“larva” and “larvae” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,341
- “larva” frequency rank
- #13,376
- “larvae” frequency rank
- 42717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | larva | larvae |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An early stage of growth for some insects and amphibians, in which after hatching from their egg, insects are wingless and resemble a caterpillar or grub, and amphibians lack limbs and resemble fish. | plural of larva |
Where the eye mixes larva and larvae
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between larva and larvae
A purely visual mix-up. larva (/ˈlɑː.və/) and larvae (/ˈlɑː.vi/) 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 extra letter(s) - “larva” sits inside “larvae”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
larva is recorded at frequency rank #29,341, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɑː.və/. larvae is at rank #13,376, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɑː.vi/.
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 42717, this pair ranks #246,715 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of larva vs larvae
Shared letters: alrv. Private to "larva": -. Private to "larvae": e.
"larva" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "larvae" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "larva" and "larvae" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "larva" or "larvae"?
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 "larva" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "larvae" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #246,715 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "larva" and "larvae" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "larva vs laver". 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 #246,715 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.