Which to use
“lore” and “loy” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,950
- “lore” frequency rank
- #45,491
- “loy” frequency rank
- 59441
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lore | loy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | All the facts and traditions about a particular subject that have been accumulated over time through education or experience. | A type of one-eared spade used in Ireland. |
Where the eye mixes lore and loy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lore runs 4 letters (CVCV) against loy's 3 (CVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lore vs loy
A purely visual mix-up. lore (/lɔː/) and loy (/lɔɪ/) 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 59441, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lore is recorded at frequency rank #13,950, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɔː/. 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 59441, this pair ranks #106,149 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lore vs loy
Shared letters: lo. Private to "lore": er. Private to "loy": y.
"lore" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "loy" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lore ← llore · loer · lorre · lroe · olre
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lore" and "loy" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lore" vs "loy" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lore" and "loy" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lore" 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 #106,149 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lore" and "loy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loy 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 #106,149 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.