Which to use
“last” and “left” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #141
- “last” frequency rank
- #215
- “left” frequency rank
- 356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | last | left |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Final, ultimate, coming after all others of its kind. | Designating the side of the body toward the west when one is facing north; the side of the body on which the heart is located in most humans; the opposite of right. This arrow points to the reader's left: ← |
Where the eye mixes last and left
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. last (/lɑːst/) and left (/ˈlɛft/) 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 356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
last is recorded at frequency rank #141, classified as anadj, pronounced /lɑːst/. left is at rank #215, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɛft/.
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 356, this pair ranks #529,554 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of last vs left
Shared letters: lt. Private to "last": as. Private to "left": ef.
"last" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "left" · 4 letters · shape CVCC