lodevslopesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,231
“lode” frequency rank
#44,310
“lopes” frequency rank
85541
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lode lopes
Definition A way or path; a road. plural of lope

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lode and lopes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lode
5 ch
lopes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lode (/ləʊd/) and lopes (/loʊps/) 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 85541, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lode is recorded at frequency rank #41,231, classified as anoun, pronounced /ləʊd/. lopes is at rank #44,310, tagged as anoun, pronounced /loʊps/.

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 85541, this pair ranks #10,237 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lode vs lopes

Shared letters: elo. Private to "lode": d. Private to "lopes": ps.

"lode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lopes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lodeldoe · llode · lodde
  • lopesllopes · loeps · lopess · loppes · lopse · lpoes · olpes

Frequency comparison

lode#41,231
lopes#44,310

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lode" and "lopes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ləʊd/ versus /loʊps/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lode" or "lopes"?
"lode" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,231 in our English list, against #44,310 for "lopes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lode vs lopes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lode” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list