Which to use
“lays” and “loy” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,734
- “lays” frequency rank
- #45,491
- “loy” frequency rank
- 57225
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lays | loy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of lay | A type of one-eared spade used in Ireland. |
Where the eye mixes lays and loy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lays vs loy
A purely visual mix-up. lays (/leɪz/) and loy (/lɔɪ/) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lays is recorded at frequency rank #11,734, classified as anoun, pronounced /leɪz/. loy is at rank #45,491, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɔɪ/.
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 57225, this pair ranks #120,764 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lays vs loy
Shared letters: ly. Private to "lays": as. Private to "loy": o.
"lays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "loy" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lays ← alys · lasy · layss · layys · llays · lyas
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lays" and "loy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lays" or "loy"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lays" and "loy" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lays" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "loy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #120,764 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lays" and "loy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loy vs LSC". 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 #120,764 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.