loyvsluxTell them apart

Which to use

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

#45,491
“loy” frequency rank
#18,878
“lux” frequency rank
64369
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loy lux
Definition A type of one-eared spade used in Ireland. In the International System of Units, the derived unit of illuminance or illumination; one lumen per square metre. Symbol: lx

Where the eye mixes loy and lux

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
loy
3 ch
lux

Why the eye confuses loy with lux

A purely visual mix-up. loy (/lɔɪ/) and lux (/lʌks/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loy is recorded at frequency rank #45,491, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɔɪ/. lux is at rank #18,878, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lʌks/.

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 64369, this pair ranks #78,091 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of loy vs lux

Shared letters: l. Private to "loy": oy. Private to "lux": ux.

"loy" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "lux" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "loy" and "lux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/lɔɪ/ versus /lʌks/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "loy" vs "lux" - which ranks higher?
"lux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,878 in our English list, against #45,491 for "loy". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "loy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #78,091 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "loy" and "lux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loy vs LSC". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #78,091 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