Which to use
“loan” and “log” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,118
- “loan” frequency rank
- #3,826
- “log” frequency rank
- 5944
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | loan | log |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use. | The trunk of a dead tree, cleared of branches. |
Where the eye mixes loan and log
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses loan with log
A purely visual mix-up. loan (/ləʊn/) and log (/lɒɡ/) 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 5944, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
loan is recorded at frequency rank #2,118, classified as anoun, pronounced /ləʊn/. log is at rank #3,826, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɒɡ/.
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 5944, this pair ranks #513,398 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of loan vs log
Shared letters: lo. Private to "loan": an. Private to "log": g.
"loan" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "log" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- loan ← laon · lloan · loann · lona · olan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "loan" for "log" ever safe?
Which is more common, "loan" or "log"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "loan" and "log" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "loan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "log" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #513,398 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "loan" and "log" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "log 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 #513,398 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.