Which to use
“lode” and “lye” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,231
- “lode” frequency rank
- #40,787
- “lye” frequency rank
- 82018
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lode | lye |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A way or path; a road. | An alkaline liquid made by leaching ashes (usually wood ashes). |
Where the eye mixes lode and lye
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lode and lye
A purely visual mix-up. lode (/ləʊd/) and lye (/laɪ/) 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 82018, 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/. lye is at rank #40,787, tagged as anoun, pronounced /laɪ/.
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 82018, this pair ranks #16,550 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lode vs lye
Shared letters: el. Private to "lode": do. Private to "lye": y.
"lode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lye" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lode ← ldoe · llode · lodde
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lode" and "lye" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lode" or "lye"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lode" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lye" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,550 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lode" and "lye" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lode vs lope". 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 #16,550 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.