Which to use
“last” is an adjective and “list” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #141
- “last” frequency rank
- #531
- “list” frequency rank
- 672
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | last | list |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Final, ultimate, coming after all others of its kind. | A strip of fabric, especially from the edge of a piece of cloth. |
Where the eye mixes last and list
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: last is /lɑːst/ while list is /lɪst/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “last” becomes i in “list”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 672, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
last is recorded at frequency rank #141, classified as anadj, pronounced /lɑːst/. list is at rank #531, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɪst/.
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 672, this pair ranks #529,006 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of last vs list
Shared letters: lst. Private to "last": a. Private to "list": i.
"last" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "list" · 4 letters · shape CVCC