Which to use
“lets” and “lute” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,952
- “lets” frequency rank
- #34,168
- “lute” frequency rank
- 37120
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lets | lute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of let | A fretted stringed instrument, similar to the guitar, having a bowl-shaped body or soundbox; any of a wide variety of chordophones with a pear-shaped body and a neck whose upper surface is in the same plane as the soundboard, with strings along the neck and parallel to the soundboard. |
Where the eye mixes lets and lute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lets and lute
A purely visual mix-up. lets (/lɛts/) and lute (/l(j)uːt/) 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 37120, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lets is recorded at frequency rank #2,952, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɛts/. lute is at rank #34,168, tagged as anoun, pronounced /l(j)uːt/.
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 37120, this pair ranks #297,222 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lets vs lute
Shared letters: elt. Private to "lets": s. Private to "lute": u.
"lets" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "lute" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lets" and "lute" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "lets" or "lute" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lets" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #297,222 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lets" and "lute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lope vs lute". 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 #297,222 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.