lugevsluxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,784
“luge” frequency rank
#18,878
“lux” frequency rank
59662
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature luge lux
Definition A racing sled for one or two people that is ridden with the rider or riders lying on their back. In the International System of Units, the derived unit of illuminance or illumination; one lumen per square metre. Symbol: lx

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set luge and lux apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
luge
3 ch
lux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. luge (/luː(d)ʒ/) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59662, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

luge is recorded at frequency rank #40,784, classified as anoun, pronounced /luː(d)ʒ/. 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 59662, this pair ranks #104,822 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of luge vs lux

Shared letters: lu. Private to "luge": eg. Private to "lux": x.

"luge" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lux" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lugelluge · lueg · lugge · ulge

Frequency comparison

luge#40,784
lux#18,878

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "luge" and "lux" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/luː(d)ʒ/ versus /lʌks/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "luge" or "lux"?
"lux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,878 in our English list, against #40,784 for "luge". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering luge vs lux

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 “luge” 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