Which to use
“lay” is a verb and “lazy” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,302
- “lay” frequency rank
- #4,773
- “lazy” frequency rank
- 7075
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lay | lazy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To place down in a position of rest, or in a horizontal position. | Unwilling to do work or make an effort; disinclined to exertion. |
Where the eye mixes lay and lazy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lay vs lazy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lay is /leɪ/ while lazy is /ˈleɪzi/. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lay is recorded at frequency rank #2,302, classified as averb, pronounced /leɪ/. lazy is at rank #4,773, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈleɪzi/.
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 7075, this pair ranks #508,688 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lay vs lazy
Shared letters: aly. Private to "lay": -. Private to "lazy": z.
"lay" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "lazy" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lazy ← alzy · layz · lazyy · lazzy · llazy · lzay
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lay" and "lazy" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary English text, does "lay" or "lazy" 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 "lay" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lazy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #508,688 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lay" and "lazy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lally vs lazy". 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 #508,688 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.