Which to use
“lab” is an adjective and “lac” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,186
- “lab” frequency rank
- #48,497
- “lac” frequency rank
- 65683
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lab | lac |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Propio o relacionado con el laboratorio. | Lago. |
Where the eye mixes lab and lac
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between lab and lac
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lab is /læb/ while lac is [lak]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “lab” becomes c in “lac”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65683, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lab is recorded at frequency rank #17,186, classified as anadj, pronounced /læb/. lac is at rank #48,497, tagged as anoun, pronounced [lak].
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 65683, this pair ranks #41,925 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lab vs lac
Shared letters: al. Private to "lab": b. Private to "lac": c.
"lab" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lac" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lab" and "lac" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lab" or "lac"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lab" and "lac" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lab" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lac" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #41,925 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lab" and "lac" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs lapa". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #41,925 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.