lisvsloyConfusable pair

Which to use

“lis” and “loy” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,822
“lis” frequency rank
#45,491
“loy” frequency rank
71313
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lis loy
Definition Clipping of fleur-de-lis. A type of one-eared spade used in Ireland.

Letter map: lis vs loy

Shared letters muted; letters that set lis and loy apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
lis
3 ch
loy

Corpus notes: lis and loy

lis and loy are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lis is recorded at frequency rank #25,822, classified as anoun. 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 71313, this pair ranks #47,222 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lis vs loy

Shared letters: l. Private to "lis": is. Private to "loy": oy.

"lis" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "loy" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lis" for "loy" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "lis" vs "loy" - which ranks higher?
"lis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,822 in our English list, against #45,491 for "loy". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "lis" and "loy".

  • Full dictionary entry for "lis" 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 #47,222 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lis" and "loy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loy vs LSC". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #47,222 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list