logvslopeWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: log is a noun, lope is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“log” is a noun and “lope” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,826
“log” frequency rank
#49,466
“lope” frequency rank
53292
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature log lope
Definition The trunk of a dead tree, cleared of branches. To travel an easy pace with long strides.

Where the eye mixes log and lope

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
log
4 ch
lope

Look-alike desk: log vs lope

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: log is /lɒɡ/ while lope is /ləʊp/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53292, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

log is recorded at frequency rank #3,826, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɒɡ/. lope is at rank #49,466, tagged as averb, pronounced /ləʊp/.

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 53292, this pair ranks #150,155 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of log vs lope

Shared letters: lo. Private to "log": g. Private to "lope": ep.

"log" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "lope" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lopellope · loep · loppe · lpoe · olpe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "log" for "lope" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "log" is a noun and "lope" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary English text, does "log" or "lope" show up more?
"log" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,826 in our English list, against #49,466 for "lope". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "log" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lope" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #150,155 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "log" and "lope" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lope vs Lora". 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 #150,155 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